Principia Athletes Grab Five Athlete of the Week Honors

St. Louis, Mo. - The St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) has announced the Athletes of the Week for the week of September 6-11.

MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Principia College's Drew Clark, a senior from Hopkinton, Mass., has been named the Men's Cross Country Runner of the Week for the week of September 6-11.

Clark won the Les Duke Invitational hosted by Grinnell College, edging Grinnell's Frank Canady by only two seconds. Clark posted a time of 26:25 on the 8K course to finish first out of 135 runners competing. Principia finished fifth out of eight teams competing.

WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Westminster College's Sarah Koestner, a sophomore from Lohman, Mo. (Russellville), has been named the Women's Cross Country Runner of the Week for the week of September 6-11.

Koestner placed eighth at the Central Missouri Mule Run, running the 4K course in 15:54. She was the first Division III runner in a field dominated by Division II and NAIA runners. Koestner improved on her time of 16:32 from a year ago at the Mule Run. She finished 49 seconds behind the winner, who was unattached, and was just 35 seconds behind the top collegiate runner from Lincoln University. Westminster placed sixth out of nine teams competing.

MEN'S SOCCER - OFFENSIVE
Eureka College's Cody Halstead, a senior from Peoria, Ill. (Richwoods), has been named the Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week for the week of September 6-11.

Halstead, a forward, scored in each of Eureka's games last week. He had the game-winning goal in the 80th minute of the Red Devils 4-3 victory over Knox College. Halstead also had the lone goal in Eureka's 3-1 loss to Rockford College.

MEN'S SOCCER - DEFENSIVE
Principia College's Samuel Thomas, a senior from Chesterfield, Mo. (The Principia School), has been named the Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week for the week of September 6-11.

Thomas, a goalkeeper, recorded 19 saves in 189 minutes in goal last week. He helped Principia battle nationally ranked No. 7 Washington University-St. Louis into overtime, but the Panthers eventually fell 1-0. He finished the game with a 12 saves. Thomas added seven saves and recorded the shutout in a 2-0 victory versus LeTourneau University.

WOMEN'S SOCCER - OFFENSIVE
Principia College's Rachel Publicover, a junior from Saratoga, Calif. (Westmont), has been named the Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week for the week of September 6-11.

Publicover, a forward, finished the week with three goals and one assist, including one game-winning goal. She scored the only two goals for Principia in a 2-0 win against Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Publicover put her squad ahead from the start, scoring her first goal in the sixth minute. Her second goal came in the 70th minute, when, with her back to the goal, she turned a ripped a shot from inside the box.

Publicover assisted the game-winning goal in the Panthers 2-0 victory versus North Central College. She then added another goal in the 23rd minute.

"Our defense has done such an amazing job not allowing goals, so it is important for our forwards to score so that we can win games," said Principia head coach Jess Semnacher. "Rachel has been doing a great job of contributing to our success by capitalizing on five goals in four games. This has been a result of her hard work, movement off the ball, composure on the ball and desire to score."

WOMEN'S SOCCER - DEFENSIVE
Principia College's Carlie Sanderude, a sophomore from Ridgefield, Conn., has been named the Women's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week for the week of September 6-11.

Sanderude, a right defender, helped Principia to their third consecutive victory and fourth consecutive shutout of the season last week. She stepped out of her normal position to play center back in the Panthers 2-0 victory versus North Central College. She helped stop North Central's forward movement by intercepting passes, making hard tackles and winning countless air balls.

"Carlie is the type of player that no matter where you place her, she will always do well because of her knowledge of the game and her competitive spirit," said Principia head coach Jess Semnacher. "She never backs down from a challenge."

VOLLEYBALL - OFFENSIVE
Webster University's Jenny Howard, a freshman from Florissant, Mo. (Duchesne), has been named the Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week for the week of September 6-11.

Howard, a 5-7 outside hitter, averaged 2.93 kills per game in four matches played last week. After starting the week with six kills, 15 digs, one block and one service ace, Howard recorded 10-plus kills in the Gorloks next three matches. She had 12 kills, 13 digs and one block in a 3-2 loss to Benedictine University (Ill.) and 11 kills and 17 digs in a 3-0 loss to Illinois Wesleyan University. Howard finished the weekend with 12 kills and nine digs as Webster defeated Illinois College 3-0, and she was named to the 2011 Illinois Wesleyan Invitational All-Tournament Team.

VOLLEYBALL - DEFENSIVE
Principia College's Kiersten Andersen, a junior from Sterling Heights, Mich. (Adlai E. Stevenson), has been named the Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week for the week of September 6-11.

Andersen, an outside hitter, recorded two double-doubles and had a total of 63 digs in a total of five matches played last week. In Principia's lone win for the week, a 3-1 victory versus Sewanee, Andersen tallied 24 digs, 12 kills, two blocks and one service ace. She also had a double-double with 12 kills and 12 digs in a 3-0 loss to Rhodes College. Andersen added 13 digs and nine kills against Hendrix College, and she had seven digs a piece versus Maryville University (Mo.) and Millsaps College.