Sept. 13, 2006

Cullowhee, N.C. - The Southern Conference today named Western Carolina junior Kerrie Savery as the TIAA-CREF Southern Conference Student-Athlete of the Week for the week of September 13. The award is the first by a Catamount student-athlete from the SoCon this season.

Savery, a cross country runner from Palm Harbor, Fla., led the Western Carolina women's cross country team to a second-place finish at the Clemson Cross Country Invitational on September 9. Her time of 18:45 was good for second place, only nine seconds behind the winning time. Savery posted the 11th best time in Catamount history, leading a trio of WCU runners with top 10 finishes.

Savery, who was named to both of the SoCon's TIAA-CREF Spring and Winter All-Academic teams last season, is a biology major with a 3.317 cumulative grade point average (GPA).

Savery will lead the Catamounts this Friday evening at 5:00 pm as WCU will host the 2006 Western Carolina Open on-campus in Cullowhee. A total of seven teams will compete on the newly-mapped cross country course.