BIDDEFORD, Maine – After her effort at the Suffolk Invite/Battle for Boston Commons, Gwen Koziara of the Suffolk women's cross country team took home Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Rookie of the Week honors, the league office announced.
Koziara led Suffolk to a sixth-place finish in the Suffolk Invite and helped the Rams capture the Battle for Coston Commons with a 6k race time of 24:26, the fastest time of any CCC runner on the course. The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania product was the seventh-best freshman in the 173-runner field. Her time was also the third-best time by an NCAA Division III first-year runner on the course at Franklin Park.
The weekly accolade marks Koziara's fourth of the year and third time she was named the league's best rookie in a seven day stretch. She swept the conference's awards – runner and rookie – Sept. 20.
Koziara and the Rams have the next week to prep for the CCC Championships, which are on tap for Saturday, Oct. 30 at Western New England in Springfield, Massachusetts.