Oct. 20, 2003

University of Kentucky senior Thomas Morgan was named Southeastern Conference Cross Country Athlete of the Week Monday after an eighth place finish at the NCAA Pre-Nationals last Saturday in Waterloo, Iowa. The top-10 finish is the third for Morgan this season, which also includes a second place performance earlier this season at the WKU Oldtimer’s Classic.

Morgan, a former NCAA qualifier and All-SEC selection, led the Kentucky men in the 8,000-meter race in a time of 23:47.1, the fastest of any SEC competitor in the meet and the quickest 8k time in the SEC this year. Morgan’s impressive run in the meet put him ahead of 237 runners from across the country and less than 30 seconds away from the first place title.

Morgan is the second cross country student-athlete to be bestowed with Athlete of the Week honors this season. Caitlin Phillips took the award on Oct. 6 after her first place individual performance at the Cardinal Cross Country Classic. Both the men’s and women’s teams return to action on Nov. 3, when they travel to Athens, Ga., for the SEC Championships.