Middlebury's Audrey MacLean has been named the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's (USTFCCCA) Women's NCAA Division III National Athlete of the Week. The Panther earns the national honor for the third time and her eighth conference nod following her strong performance at the Connecticut College Invitational.

HIGHLIGHTS

• MacLean paced the pack in the blue race, crossing the line with a winning time of 20:36.6.
• The Panther was 13 seconds ahead of the runner-up finisher and secured the third-fastest time in the invite's history.
• MacLean joins Amanda Weiss of Amherst (1993, 1995, 1996) and Connecticut College's Maura Danahy (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001) as the third runner to win the invite three or more times.
• The blue race featured eight teams ranked in the top 25 of the latest USTFCCCA poll.

MacLean and her teammates are idle this week before returning to competition at the NESCAC Championship. Middlebury will serve as the host institution for the meet on Saturday, October 31.

MacLean is the third runner from the NESCAC to earn the national honor:
Sept. 9: Kate Tuttle, Williams
Sept. 15: Kate Tuttle, Williams
Oct. 12: Jack Quinn, Hamilton
Oct. 20: Audrey MacLean, Middlebury