SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Junior Katie Hursey has been named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Northeast Region's Woman Athlete of the Year. The selection comes less than one week after the Hampstead, Md. native became the first NCAA Northeast Region women's individual champion in the school's history. The veteran's standout performance at the NCAA Northeast Regional meet propelled the Orange to Syracuse's first Regional team title in history.

Hursey, who has posted the team's best time in four of the five races she has participated in this season, also crossed the finish line first for the Orange at the BIG EAST Championship with a time of 21:30. She placed eighth in the conference championship in 2009, leading her team to an all-time best third-place showing.

Prior to the BIG EAST meet, Hursey also clocked team-best times at Indiana State University's Pre-Nationals Invitational and the Wisconsin adidas Invitational, propelling her team to a fourth and second place finish, respectively.

Hursey went from regional/national alternate last season to the regional champion through hard work, perseverance and positive attitude. She built her success this season over the last two years, as she was the top freshman cross country athlete in the region, earning her an All-Region selection in 2007. As a sophomore, she won the annual John Reif Memorial Run.

Hursey will travel with the women to the NCAA Cross Country Championship for the second consecutive year. Last year marked the first and only time that Orange qualified as a whole for the NCAA Championship. This year's competition will take place on Monday, November 23 in Terre Haute, Ind.