In the final Midwest Collegiate Conference cross country weekly award announcement of the year, Grand View sophomore Obsie Birru (Des Moines, Iowa) picked up her eighth MCC Cross Country Runner of the Week award of the season.

Birru finished eighth individually at the NAIA National Championships, posting a time of 18:20 over a 5K course and earning All-American honors for the second straight year

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has announced that a total of 254 women's cross country runners have been named 2009 Daktronics-NAIA Women's Cross Country Scholar-Athletes.

Grand View junior Felicia Hoover earned the Daktronics-NAIA Scholar Athlete distinction. Hoover is a junior Nursing major from LeClaire, Iowa.

Nominated by each institution's head coach, a student-athlete must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale and have achieved junior academic status to qualify.

Grand View sophomore standout Obsie Birru (Des Moines, Iowa) placed 8th in the field of 300 runners today at the NAIA Cross Country Championships held today in Vancouver, Washington. Birru ran the 5k race in 18:20 and her 8th place finished earned her All-American honors. Birru's bettered her 2008 championship finish by ten places having placed 18th in 2008.

In the team standings, California State-San Marcos won its first ever championship. CSU-San Marcos won by a narrow margin of three points over second-place Biola (Calif.) (137 points to 140 points). The Cougars posted three runners in the top 30.

The 2009 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Men's and Women's Cross Country National Championships will be held Nov. 21 in Vancouver, Washington. The event will take place at the Fort Vancouver Historical Site and hosted by the Cascade Collegiate Conference and Concordia (Ore.) University. This marks the first year for the event in Vancouver -- Kenosha, Wis., was the site for the Championships the previous two years.

Two runners will represent Grand Viewat the championships. Sophomore Obsie Birru (Des Moines, Iowa) will compete in the women's race and senior Bichok Deng (Des Moines, Iowa) in the men's race Both qualified for the NAIA National Championships via the MCC Championships in which Birru won and Deng placed third. It is Birru's second trip to nationals; she placed 18th in 2008.

Thirty-two women's teams, including 23 conference/independent/unaffiliated champions, two conference runners-up, six at-large bids, one host berth and 117 individual qualifiers, will run in the 5K race.

The men's 8K race will also welcome 32 teams, including 22 conference/independent/unaffiliated champions, eight at-large bids, one conference runner-up, one host berth and 102 individual qualifiers.

Viking sophomore standout Obsie Birru (Des Moines, Iowa) collected her seventh Midwest Collegiate Conference Runner of the Week award Monday. Birru was the individual winner at the MCC Championships last Saturday in Oskaloosa and finished the 5k course in 18:25.

With the win, Birru qualified for the second time for the NAIA Championships held November 21 in Vancouver, Washington.