Photo Gallery
INDIANAPOLIS - Junior women's cross country runner
Ana Paez has been named IUPUI's Most Valuable Runner for the 2010 season and freshman
Rebekah Jones was picked as the Top Newcomer as the end-of-year awards were announced at the team's postseason banquet at the Campus Center on Sunday afternoon.
Other award winners included sophomore
Rebecca Downs being named the team's Most Improved Runner and classmate
Rachel Zajac was voted the team's Mental Attitude Award winner by her teammates. Senior
Brittney McDuffee earned the Leadership Award in her final collegiate campaign.
Paez earned her second straight Team MVP award after leading IUPUI to the finish line in the final three meets of the year, including earning Second Team All-Summit League honors with a 14th place finish at the championship meet on Oct. 30 at Northview in Carmel. Her 6K time of 22:00.9 at that meet was the second fastest in school history and less than two seconds off McDuffee's school record. Her best 5K of the year came at the IPFW Invitational on Sept. 11 when she covered the course in a time of 18:32.22. She shared the MVP award with McDuffee last season.
After a sluggish start, Jones shined over the latter half of the season, running among IUPUI's top three in the final three races of the year to earn Top Newcomer honors. She had an impressive showing at The Summit League Championships, posting a personal record time of 22:54.3 as the Jaguars' No. 3 performer. She capped the year as IUPUI's No. 2 runner at the season ending NCAA Great Lakes Regional Meet. For the year, she ran among IUPUI's top four four different times.
Downs had a banner sophomore season, running in IUPUI's top six in all seven meets to earn the team's Most Improved Runner award. The Fort Wayne-native set a new 5K PR in her hometown on Sept. 11, running a 19:07.39 at the IPFW Invitational. She later ran a 6K PR at The Summit League Championship Meet on Oct. 30, finishing that race in a time of 23:26.4. Last season, Downs never broke the 20-minute mark at the 5K distance and she shed more than a minute off her best 6K time from a year ago.
Zajac was voted the team's Mental Attitude Award Winner by her teammates after leading the Jaguars to the line in the first four meets of the year before struggling with an injury over the final six weeks of the year. After missing the Falcon Invite on Oct. 16, she gave a gutsy performance at The Summit League Championships on Oct. 30, running a 23:32.6 6K as IUPUI's No. 7 runner. She capped her season with a 23:20.21 6K at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Meet. Last year's Top Newcomer ran the Jaguars' fastest 5K of the season with an 18:25.05 at the IPFW Invitational on Sept. 11. Her time was the eighth fastest 5K in school history and bettered her personal record by more than 30 seconds.
McDuffee capped her magnificent four-year career with the team's Leadership Award in 2010. The Jaguars' lone senior was IUPUI's top runner 15 times in her 28-race career and holds the program's 6K record at 21:59.2. The captain was among IUPUI's top four in all seven meets this past season and was the Jaguars' No. 2 runner four different times. Her best race of the season came at the Notre Dame Invitational when she covered the 5K course in a time of 18:36 for the third fastest time of her career. McDuffee was a two-time Second Team All-Summit League performer and has earned Academic All-Summit League honors each year of her career.
IUPUI runners will continue training during the winter months and will return to action on the track in the spring.
