EVANSVILLE, Ind.—University of Southern Indiana Women’s Track & Field freshman Hadessah Austin was named Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Week for the third time in an announcement by the league office Wednesday afternoon.
It marks the third time during the indoor and outdoor seasons that Austin has earned OVC Freshman of the Week honors and the fifth overall OVC weekly honor–she also has been named OVC Track Athlete of the Week twice this year.
Austin ran the OVC’s fastest 5,000-meter time last Thursday when she crossed the finish line at the Bryan Clay Invitational in 12th-place with a new USI freshman record of 16 minutes, 23.45 seconds. She broke USI Hall of Famer Heather Cooksey’s freshman mark of 16:39.33, which was set at the 2003 Hillsdale Relays, and moved into third all-time at USI in the event.
Earlier this season, Austin broke USI’s rookie record in the 10,000 meters with her time of 34:30.10 at the WashU Distance Carnival. She has broken four freshman records this season, including the rookie marks in the indoor 3,000 and 5,000 meters.
The OVC Indoor champion in the 3,000 and 5,000 meters, Austin currently ranks first in the outdoor 5,000 meters by nearly 40 seconds and first in the 10,000 meters by more than two minutes. She was named the OVC Indoor Freshman of the Year following her performance at the OVC Indoor Championships two months ago.
USI returns to action Friday and Saturday at the Jim Freeman/Clark Wood Invitational in Louisville, Kentucky.
