MU's Katie Woods Named as NAIA Indoor Track Athlete of the Week

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Following her sixth different Crossroads League Athlete of the Week honor this season, Marian women's track and field junior Katie Woods has been named as the NAIA's Women's Indoor Track Athlete of the Week. The honor is the first of Woods' career, as she is the first Crossroads League Athlete, male or female, to win the award this track season.

Katie Woods served as the anchor for Marian's DMR team that clocked the NAIA's fastest time this season of 11:55.71 on Friday at the Crossroads of America Invite, and in the process broke a Marian school record that stood for nine seasons. The DMR group, which featured teammates Nora Steele, Holli Reuter, and Gracie Fields, broke the previous school mark by 28 seconds, setting their mark against five other NCAA DI schools. The junior then went on to break her own school record in a win in the 1000m on Saturday at the George Glass Invite, setting the NAIA's fastest time of the season with her 2:53.94 effort. Woods' time, when converted from a 200m track to a banked track, adjusts to a 2:52, which is four seconds faster than the next best time in the NAIA this season. 

Woods has been named the Crossroads League Female Track Athlete of the Week four times this season, and was twice named the women's Cross Country Athlete of the Week. 

Marian will compete twice this weekend at Indiana Wesleyan, going to their Wildcat Open on Friday and then to the IWU Midwest Classic on Saturday.