Freeby Chosen Honorable Mention for National Athlete of the Week

By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110

SALEM, ORE. -- Michaela Freeby (Jr., Milwaukie, OR/Rex Putnam HS) from Willamette University received honorable mention recognition for NCAA Division III National Women's Athlete of the Week as selected by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for meets held Oct. 4-6.

Freeby took first place in the Women's Cardinal 5K race in a field of 190 runners at the 39th Annual Charles Bowles Invitational, hosted by the Bearcats on Saturday, Oct. 5. Freeby achieved a winning time of 17:30.15 as she reached the finish line 12.52 seconds before the second place runner.

The successful running by Freeby helped the Bearcats place third in the women's team standings. Willamette trailed only Alaska-Anchorage and Seattle Pacific out of 18 teams overall.

Chelsea Johnson from the College of St. Scholastica (Minn.) was chosen for the NCAA Division III National Women's Athlete of the Week honor for the second week in a row. She won the Division III Pre-National meet in Hanover, Ind., with a time of 21:25.74 for 6-kilometers. She won the race by 46 seconds.

Joining Freeby as honorable mention selections were Tricia Serres from Luther College (Iowa), Grace Tilton from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (N.Y.) and Lucy Cheadle from Washington University (Mo.).

The Willamette cross country teams will return to action on Saturday, Oct. 12 at the Mike Hodges Invitational, hosted by Clackamas Community College in Oregon City, Ore. The first race is set to begin at 10 a.m. (PDT).