For the second time in her college career, Cassondra O’Connor was named Mountain East Conference Runner of the Year. O’Connor gained this after her first-place performance at the MEC Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Oct. 25.

O’Connor placed first in the championships with a time of 22:28.64, which was a full 17 seconds ahead of the runner up, Lauren Twyman from Davis & Elkins. Last year offered up a different ending with Twyman in the first-place spot and O’Connor in second place.

To close the season, Point Park women’s cross country placed second overall out of 11 teams with 88 points.

First place went to Davis & Elkins with its 32 points. The Senators received the top spot with four of their runners placing in the top 10.

Five Point Park runners placed in the top 30, with Cassondra O’Connor at first, Alana Dyce-Giraud, Lotte Zethof, Aubrey Smith and Zabine Von Westernhagen at 18th, 19th, 22nd and 28th place, respectively.

When she came onto the track as a first-time cross country runner last season she received multiple MEC awards, including MEC Runner of the Year. This was the first time a Point Park runner was given the award.

Alongside her MEC Runner of the Year award, she also earned first team All-MEC accolades for the second year in a row which was also the first time it was given to a Point Park cross country athlete. Dyce-Giraud and Zethof received second team All-MEC accolades with their top-20 placements.