COLCHESTER, Vt. - Saint Michael's College women's cross country first-year Tess Drury (Richmond, Vt./Mount Mansfield Union) was named Northeast-10 Conference Athlete of the Week and Rookie of the Week for the week ending on Sunday, Oct. 15. Senior Noah Taracena (Hampton, N.H./Winnacunnet) landed on the NE10 Weekly Honor Roll.
 
Drury claimed her third NE10 Athlete of the Week accolade while picking up her fifth consecutive NE10 Rookie of the Week nod. She placed third among 74 finishers in a 5K PR of 18:45.41 on Friday at the Bruce Kirsh Cross Country Cup in New Hampshire. One of the runners she trailed was from Division I Merrimack College, as she helped the Purple Knights place second out of 11 schools, topping all Division II entries. In five races, Drury has a rookie-program-record three victories. She has trailed only three runners all season; two hailed from Division I institutions.
 
Taracena, who earned his fifth accolade, including fourth honor roll nod, broke a 20-year-old 8K program record while placing second among 99 finishers in 25:18.83 at the Bruce Kirsh Cross Country Cup on Friday. Taracena helped the Purple Knights place third among 13 schools, including second among Division II squads, as he shattered newly minted Saint Michael's Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Drew Best's '04 program mark (25:36) by nearly 17 seconds. Best recorded his standard on Oct. 17, 2003, during a home tri-meet. Taracena became the first Purple Knight man to set a school record since Best set the 10K mark on Nov. 9, 2003. The captain has finished no lower than eighth place across five races this fall.
 
Both teams were ranked in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) East Region polls, with the women fourth and the men ninth. The Purple Knights head to the NE10 Championship on Sunday at Stanley Park in Westfield, Mass., where the women begin at 11 a.m. and the men start at 12:15 p.m.