Swanson Earns NWC Women's Cross Country Student-Athlete of the Week

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- Hannah Swanson (Sr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) of Willamette University has been chosen Northwest Conference Women's Cross Country Student-Athlete of the Week for her performance at the Ash Creek Preserve Invitational on Sept. 8. A total of three Willamette women's cross country runners competed at the meet, which was hosted by Western Oregon University in Monmouth, Oregon.

Swanson finished seventh out of 113 runners over the 4.6-kilometer course. She earned a time of 16:54.0. Five of the six runners in front of Swanson were from NCAA Division II Simon Fraser, which won the women's title, and one runner was from NCAA Division II Alaska-Anchorage. Swanson was only 0.3 seconds out of fifth place, 3.2 seconds out of fourth and 5.3 seconds out of third. 

The Bearcats will be back in action on Saturday, Sept. 16 in Northfield, Minnesota, at the St. Olaf Invitational. The men's race is scheduled for 10 a.m. CDT/8 a.m. PDT, with the women's race to follow at 11 a.m. CDT/9 a.m. PDT.