IU Indy Athletics

IUPUI sophomore cross country runner Joey Zielinski has been chosen Athlete of the Month for August/September after leading the Jaguars to a historic start to the 2013 season. The South Bend, Ind.-native has been IUPUI's top runner in two of his three entries to start the year, including a pair of top five finishes. 

Zielinski opened the year with a fifth-place finish at the Flyer 5K (Aug. 31), running a time of 15:48.7 to push the Jaguars to a second-place finish. IUPUI placed ahead of regionally ranked Miami and just 12 points back of Ohio State. Zielinski followed that up with a fifth-place finish at the IPFW Invitational (Sept. 7), running an 8K time of 26:57.70 while guiding the Jaguars to a perfect 15-point effort. The win was IUPUI's second of the season and seventh in the program's history. 

Zielinski capped the month with a 13th-place effort at the Indiana Intercollegiates Meet, running a time of 25:33.08 to push IUPUI to a fourth-place finish. IUPUI came in just behind regionally ranked Purdue and Indiana State at that meet for the Jaguars' highest-ever finish. He was later named Summit League Athlete of the Week for his effort in Bloomington.