Player of the Week: Kendra Nissley
Kendra Nissley, senior captian, has four top five finishes in five races this year.
On a morning most college students would like to spend in bed, Kendra Nissley and the women's cross country team splashed their way to a second place finish at the Virginia state meet last Saturday.
"It was great," senior captain Nissley said with a smile. "Last weekend's conditions were perfect cross country weather." Despite a waterlogged course and temperatures in the 40s, this week's athlete of the week managed to run a personal best for the Peak View Elementary course. Her time of 25:26 was good enough for second place, leading EMU to place second out of 10 teams. Although she had beaten the first place runner, Roanoke's Mallory McClaine, earlier in the season, Nissley said she was not disappointed with Saturday's result. "Mallory and I encouraged each other the whole way," said Nissley. "She outkicked me at the end, but I think she deserved it. She ran a smarter race than I did."
On the season, Nissley has four top five finishes in five races. On Friday, Sept. 29, she finished fourth overall at the McDonald's Maymont Cross Country Festival in a field including division I schools VCU and Norfolk State.
Although this is only Nissley's third season of cross country, she has plans to graduate in the spring with a double major in German and Justice Pease and Conflict Studies (JPCS). She spent her sophomore year in Germany, participating first in the Intermenno exchange program and then in Brethren Colleges abroad. This year she is SGA secretary as well as president of the German club, and is thinking about fitting in a triathlon before getting ready for track in the spring.
This weekend the EMU men's and women's teams travel to Gettysburg, PA for an invitational. On Saturday, October 28, Nissley and the Lady Royals return to the Peak View course for the ODAC championship as they look to improve on last year's fifth place finish.
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