COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Every time that Stephanie Place has run a
meet this season, she has added a new number to the Tennessee Tech
record book, and has now posted the eight fastest 5K times in TTU
women's cross country history.
Simultaneously, every time she has run a race this year she has
also been named the Ohio Valley Conference Runner of the Week. On
Tuesday, she claimed her second consecutive and fourth overall
award of 2008.
Place earned this week's honor after finishing second in a field of
139 runners at the Furman Invitational in Greenville, S.C. She
finished the 5K race in 18:10, which was just four seconds behind
the individual winner. Despite running in windy conditions and over
a sandy course, Place still recorded the seventh-fastest time in
TTU history, helping the Golden Eagles to a afourth place finish
among 18 teams.
"Stephanie is obviously the best distance runner Tech has ever had,
and she works extremely hard to win or be at the top of all her
races," said Tony Cox, Tech cross country and track coach. "She's
certainly deserving of it.
"She has a great work ethic, she runs twice a day most days. She
runs a lot of mileage, and that's one of the keys to being at her
level. She's a great peson to work with, as well," Cox said. "She
fits in well with the team. They admire her for how hard she works
and for how fast she runs."
Cox said hard work and strength have been the keys to Place's
success, including all-OVC honors as a sophomore and junior.
"She strong, and maintains her pace and finds ways to speed up
during the race," Cox said. "Most runners try to hold their pace,
or they slow down, by she's strong enough to continue to pick up
the pace as the race progresses."
Tech's cross country teams run Saturday morning at the Evansville
Invitational, the final events of the regular season before the OVC
Championships on Nov. 1.