Rockhurst freshman Elijah Smith and junior Carrington Hessen swept the Great Lakes Valley Conference/Athletic Solutions Runner of the Week honors, the league announced Tuesday (Sept. 29).

Smith was named the GLVC Men's Runner of the Week, while Hessen earned GLVC Women's Runner of the Week honors for the second time this season.

The sweep adds another milestone to a strong start to the season for the Rockhurst cross country programs. Hessen became the first Rockhurst women's cross country runner in program history to earn GLVC Runner of the Week honors earlier this season on Sept. 9. Just a few weeks later, Smith earned the first GLVC Runner of the Week award in Rockhurst men's cross country history, giving the Hawks both weekly conference awards.

Smith, a freshman from Raymore, Missouri, led the Rockhurst men at the Gans Creek Classic on Friday (Sept. 25) in Columbia, Missouri. He finished 32nd overall in a field of 257 runners, completing the 8K course in 25:49.8. Smith's performance helped the Hawks finish 11th out of 21 teams with 326 points. The nursing major earns the first GLVC Runner of the Week honor of his career.

Hessen continued her outstanding junior season by winning the women's race at the Gans Creek Classic. The Tulsa, Oklahoma, native finished first out of 255 runners with a 6K time of 20:48.2. Her individual victory helped lead the Rockhurst women to a ninth-place finish out of 23 teams with 191 points. She now owns two GLVC Runner of the Week awards this season after earning the first such honor in Rockhurst women's cross country history earlier this season.

With Smith and Hessen both receiving recognition Tuesday, Rockhurst swept the GLVC men's and women's Runner of the Week awards for the first time in program history. They return to action in Lawrence, KS Sunday (Oct. 11) at the NCAA Pre-Nats.