KENNESAW,Ga.- Following a first place finish on Oct 9 in the Samford Invitational, Piotr Witczak was named Atlantic Sun Conference Runner of the Week the conference announced Wednesday afternoon. This is the second time Witczak has received the award for cross country.

It’s nice to be recognized by the conference,”Witczak said. “I have been working hard since the beginning of the season and this award shows that all of my hard work is paying off. It is definitely a good motivator not just physically but mentally going into the final meets of the season. It helps me to have that confidence I need getting ready for our conference meet.”

Coming off of back to back weeks of solid competition, Witczak lead the field with an 8k time of 25:41 and helped the Owls to a first place team victory as well. The challenging course in Hoover Ala. is the same one that will be used for the NCAA South Regionals in November.

“This award is such a great honor for Piotr,” head cross country coach Stan Sims said. “He made the difficult transition when he came to KSU from middle distance runner. Now, through all of his hard work and effort he has turned himself into a strong distance runner. As a co-captain, his work ethic stretches to other members of the team. Week in and week out, he is providing a challenge for the top runners on the team which just makes achievements like this even more special.”

The Owls compete next Oct 16 at the UTC Front Runner Invitational in Chattanooga, Tenn.