Wright State University

Two Wright State track athletes were recognized Tuesday by the Horizon League as Cassandra Lloyd was named the league's Female Runner of the Week while Erin Hartzell was the Female Field Athlete of the Week.

The Wright State track team opened the 2011 portion of its schedule Friday by competing at the Buckeye Classic in Columbus.

Cassandra Lloyd, a junior on the Wright State indoor track team, has been selected as the Horizon League Women's Runner of the Week for the week ending December 12, it was announced Tuesday afternoon by the league office.

The Wright State indoor track team opened its season Saturday by competing in the Purple and White Invitational, hosted by Capital University in Columbus.

The Wright State cross country teams wrapped up their seasons Saturday by competing at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, hosted by Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan.

Natalie Hopwood, a senior on the women's cross country team, has been named the Wright State Student-Athlete Advisory Council's Athlete of the Month for the period of October 11-November 7, it was announced at their monthly meeting Tuesday morning.

The Wright State cross country teams competed Saturday at the Horizon League Championships, hosted by Loyola at the Montrose Harbor Beach Park in Chicago.

The Wright State cross country teams competed Saturday at the Falcon Open, held at the Forest Creason golf course next to the Bowling Green campus.

The Wright State cross country teams competed Friday afternoon at the All-Ohio Championships, hosted by Cedarville University at the Elvin R. King Cross Country Course.

Cross country runner Evan Firestone has been as impressive a runner for the Wright State program as any other athlete the school has featured during his three years at WSU.

"Going the distance", "finish what you started" and "it's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog" are just a few well-known catch phrases. Phrases such as these are not intended to encompass the entire person; but to merely give us a peek into a person's character. The Wright State women's cross country team has been privileged to have one such person who embodies aspects that bring phrases like these to mind. Her name is Natalie Hopwood.

It was her fourth trip to the Air Force Half Marathon for Christina Johnston, but her days of running around the Wright State University campus and area go back to her undergraduate days when she was part of the WSU cross country team and her name was Christina Haverfield.

Assistant cross country and track coach Becki Ordway brings great experience and life lessons to Wright State.

There are stories about certain athletes who give us perspective on the amount of strength and courage it takes for someone to reach their personal goals. The story of Dylan McElfresh is an example of a young man who had to overcome far more than most of us. Stricken with a life-threatening illness, Dylan is on the tough road to resume his pursuit of a degree in criminal justice, all the while participating in the sport he loves, running.

Both of the Wright State cross country teams finished fourth at the Friendship Invitational Saturday, hosted by Cedarville University at the Elvin R. King Cross Country Course.

The Wright State cross country teams competed at the Queen City Invitational in Cincinnati Saturday, with the men placing fourth and the women fifth.

The Wright State cross country teams opened their season Saturday morning at the Flyer 5K Challenge, held at Indian Riffle Park in Kettering, Ohio. The men placed fourth in the Division I race while the women were also fourth.

TThe Wright State cross country teams begin their season on Saturday at the Flyer 5K Challenge at Indian Riffle Park in Kettering, looking to improve upon a 2009 campaign that resulted in seventh place finishes for both squads.

Becki Ordway, who had been an interim assistant track coach at WSU, has been named assistant cross country/track and field coach at Wright State, Raider head coach Fabien Corbillon announced Thursday.

Becki Ordway, who had been an interim assistant track coach at WSU, has been named assistant cross country/track and field coach at Wright State, Raider head coach Fabien Corbillon announced Thursday.Over the past year, she helped coach 25 WSU runners to personal best times in the distance events, posting one new school record in the 10,000 meter and one in the one mile. Wright State also finished with its highest ranking ever at the Horizon League Meet in both the indoor and outdoor events."Becki has been tireless in her dedication to the student-athletes over the past year," Corbillon said. "We are looking forward to working with her as she becomes an even bigger part of our continued overall improvement as a program."A 2006 business and organizational communication graduate of the University of Akron, Ordway has twice been an Olympic Trials qualifier in the marathon (2008 and 2012) and participated in cross country and track for the Zips, earning All-Mid-American Conference honors twice. She also spent time as a volunteer missionary in Panama, Romania and Ecuador.The Raider cross country teams start the 2010 season at the Flyer 5K at Indian Riffle Park in Kettering, OH September 4.

The Horizon League Monday released its spring all-academic teams with five Wright State student-athletes being recognized.