Oct. 3, 2007

MACON, Ga. - A few days after posting the fastest 5,000-meter time by any athlete in the Atlantic Sun Conference so far this season, freshman Mackenzie Howe has been rewarded by receiving the A-Sun Female Runner of the Week Award as announced by the conference office on Wednesday afternoon.

Howe earned the accolade after finishing 27th with a personal-best time of 17:45.69 at the prestigious Auburn Invitational last weekend. She helped lead the Owls to an 11th place finish in the highly competitive 22-team field.

"This meet really gave Mackenzie a chance to show her stuff," said head coach Stan Sims. "With Erin (Sutton) missing the meet with an injury, Mackenzie proved that she can be one of the top runners in the conference. I am pleased that she received the recognition for the hard work that she has already put in."

Howe's conference-leading mark is nearly 30 seconds ahead of the next closest competitor, Emily Tangwar (USC Upstate), who posted a time of 18:14.38 this past weekend at the Citadel Invitational.

"While she hasn't been a runner for that long, Mackenzie is certainly living up to the expectations we had set for her," added Sims.

The award is the first of Howe's career and the Watkinsville, Ga. product is the first freshman woman to win the honor since Florida Atlantic's Trisha Doyle won the award for the week of September 21, 2004.

Howe and the rest of her Owl teammates will be back in action this Saturday when KSU travels to the Walt Disney World Classic in Orlando, Fla.