USI’s Hufnagel named OVC Track Athlete of Week

EVANSVILLE, Ind.—University of Southern Indiana Men’s Track & Field senior Noah Hufnagel (Santa Claus, Indiana) has been named the Ohio Valley Conference Men’s Track Athlete of the Week in an announcement by the league office Wednesday afternoon.
 
Hufnagel led the Screaming Eagles at the WashU Distance Carnival this past Saturday night, posting a first-place finish in the 5,000 meters with a stadium-record time of 14 minutes, 5.50 seconds.
 
The award is the first weekly honor for USI Men’s Track & Field since joining the OVC in July and the first weekly honor for Hufnagel on the track. Hufnagel was twice selected OVC Runner of the Week on the cross country course in the fall and was twice named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Runner of the Week as a junior in 2021.
 
Hufnagel’s performance at the WashU Distance Carnival was just 5.47 seconds shy of his personal-best and was his fastest time on an outdoor track—he posted a time of 14:00.03 at the Boston University David Hemery Valentine Invite during the Indoor season in February. The performance also ranks eighth all-time on USI’s outdoor 5,000-meter list.
 
A graduate of Heritage Hills High School and a kinesiology major at USI, Hufnagel was the OVC champion on the cross country course this past fall and in the 3,000 meters at the OVC Indoor Championships less than two months ago.
 
USI returns to action Friday and Saturday when it competes at the Bill Cornell Spring Classic in Carbondale, Illinois.