TOLEDO, Ohio - Freshman Joy Chirchir was named the Women's Cross Country Runner of the Week by the Mid-American Conference today for her performance last Friday at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational.

Chirchir came in seventh place to lead Toledo to a ninth-place team finish in an elite field of runners at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational on Oct. 1. Chirchir completed the 5000m "Blue" race in 16:23.6, about 13 seconds off the pace of medalist Mercy Chelangat of Alabama (16:10.3). She was in fourth place at the 4000m mark before settling for seventh place in the final leg of the race.

Toledo's strong finish moved it up to a No. 5 ranking in the Great Lakes Region and No. 28 in the country, the Rockets' first national ranking since 2014.