San Antonio - Trinity first-year student-athlete Melissa Whitman has been selected as the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Women's Cross Country Runner of the Week.

Whitman played a major role the Tiger women's excellent ninth-place finish last Saturday at the University of Arkansas Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival at Fayetteville, Arkansas.Trinity scored 242 points in the event, which consisted of 25 teams from outside of Division I competition.

Among 375 competitors, Whitman placed 146th in the 5k event, clocking in at 18:45.8. She was just two seconds behind the Tigers' top finisher, senior Michelle Oberndorf, who came in at No. 135 with a time of 18:43.1. Trinity's women had nine runners finish in under the 20-minute mark, and eight were faster than their top time of the previous meet.

Whitman and the Tiger women have had a strong start to their 2014 campaign. The Tigers took the team title at their Alamo City Opener on August 29, and finished first among non-Division I teams at the Ricardo Romo/UTSA Classic September 19. Whitman opened her collegiate career with a third-place finish at the Alamo City Opener, and came in at No. 7 in the Ricardo Romo Classic in the division. Both events were held in San Antonio.

Trinity's men's and women's teams will compete Saturday at the University of the Incarnate Word Invitational in Live Oak, Texas.