Sept. 26, 2007

Erie, Pa. - Mercyhurst women's cross country freshman Cherie Jackson cruised to victory at the Allegheny College Classic on Saturday, and on Wednesday, she was named Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Runner of the Week, becoming the first women's runner in Mercyhurst history to earn the award.

The Lakers have been a member of the GLIAC since 1995, and Jackson is not only the first Laker to win the award, but also became the first freshman in the 27-year history of the program to take first place at an event.

Jackson, with two top-three finishes to her credit in her first three weeks at the NCAA level, recorded a time of 23:30.31 on Saturday and finished a full 42 seconds in front of her nearest competitor. It was Mercyhurst's first individual victory since Katie Jarocki won the CALU Invitational as a senior in 2006.

Along with the win at Allegheny and a third-place finish at the CALU Invitational in the season's opening week, Jackson finished 35th in a field of 218 runners at the Division I-laden National Catholic Cross Country Invitational.

Jackson leads the Lakers in head-to-head competition against Gannon on Saturday, Sept. 29.