Ackley, Drew, Cottrell Honored by ASUN
9/28/2021 2:35:12 PM | Cross Country
Thanks to a successful showing at Friday’s Roy Griak Invitational, Liberty earned three ASUN Conference weekly awards on Tuesday. The Flames’ honorees include Adelyn Ackley (Women’s Runner of the Week), Ryan Drew (Men’s Runner of the Week) and Jack Cottrell (Men’s Freshman of the Week).
Ackley’s honor is her second of the season and the sixth of her career. She is now tied with North Florida’s Eden Meyer for the second most ASUN Women’s Runner of the Week awards in conference history.
Drew and Cottrell each picked up their first ASUN cross country weekly awards on Tuesday. Cottrell is Liberty’s first ASUN Men’s Freshman of the Week since Joe Spitzer was recognized on Oct. 23, 2019.
A native of Mears, Mich., Ackley clocked a 6K time of 21:04.5 to place a team-best sixth in the women’s gold race. Ackley and teammate Calli Doan (seventh place) both edged Georgia Tech All-American Nicole Fegans at the finish line.
Ackley’s efforts helped Liberty place fourth in the 21-team field, one spot ahead of No. 6 Michigan State. As a result, the Lady Flames moved up to No. 4 in this week’s USTFCCCA Southeast Region rankings, achieving the highest regional listing in program history.
In the men’s 8K gold race, Drew crossed the finish line in 25:07.2 for 21st place overall. The Virginia Beach, Va., native’s successful season debut contributed to the Flames’ 10th-place showing in the 21-team field.
Teammate Cottrell finished 147th in 26:54.8 during his collegiate debut on Friday, serving as Liberty’s No. 7 runner. The true freshman hails from Chattanooga, Tenn.
Liberty will divide its runners between two different meets on Oct. 15, including the FSU XC Invite/Pre-Nationals (Tallahassee, Fla.) and the VertCross Invitational (Kernersville, N.C.)