INDIANAPOLIS – Tiffin and the women of nationally/regionally ranked Cedarville were tabbed for Great Midwest Athletic Conference Cross Country Athletes of the Week on Wednesday.
 
Men’s Athlete of the Week
Nathaniel Ondracek
Tiffin
Junior
Sagamore Hills, OH (Walsh Jesuit HS)
 
Ondracek was the top place winner at the Tiffelberg Open and the Dragons earned the team win with fellow league schools Ashland and Malone also in the field.
 
The junior cruised with a time of 25:43.80 and the Dragons’ pace also included finishes in the top six runners from Anthony Nickerson and Jaylen Lasseter, both freshmen.
 
Ondracek was first in a field of 80 competitors and the Dragons ran a combined time of 2:12.20 while averaging 26:28.00 in the 8K race.
 
Tiffin’s men kept pace with the women’s program as Ines Macadam (21:39.70) was also the top finisher for the Dragons women in the 6K race.
 
Women’s Athlete of the Week
Alayna Ackley
Cedarville
Junior
Hart, MI (Hart HS)
 
The Yellow Jackets are the Great Midwest’s top ranked program by the USTFCCCA, at No. 14 nationally (with a new poll coming out Wednesday) and No. 4 in the Midwest Region.
 
With Cedarville set to host this year’s conference championship races at the Elvin R. King Course in a few weeks, one of the league’s most successful programs had another regular season tune up at the Louisville Classic.
 
Ackley, a first team all-conference performer, with a sixth-place effort last fall, ran a 17:53.70, nearly a top 10 all-time showing in conference history in the 5K distance.
 
Ackley finished 73rd out of nearly 400 runners in the Gold Division and the Yellow Jackets beat Division I teams like Missisippi State, UTEP, Marquette, Eastern Illinois and others.
 
Ackley has competed in three races this fall with a top-20 finish at the All-Ohio Championships and top-10 placement at the Mike Baumer Classic.