Congratulations to MANE senior Morgan Lee, Mideast Region Athlete of the Year!

TROY, N.Y. - The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Regional Awards have been announced and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) cross country student-athlete Morgan Lee has been chosen as the Mideast Region Women's Athlete of the Year. The awards are selected by member coaches from the division.

A senior, Lee (Edgewater, MD / South River) earned the honor after winning Saturday's NCAA Mideast Regional Championship Meet in 22:10.9, a victory of approximately 13 over the runner-up (22:13.4). She ran the first mile of the 6K event in 5:53.9 and reached two miles in 11.57.5. She trailed the leader by eight seconds at two miles but made up the difference down the stretch. Lee helped the Engineers finish third among the 21 schools and RPI earned an at-large bid to this Saturday's NCAA Division III Championship in Michigan.

In her four other races this fall, Lee, a mechanical and aeronautical engineering major, has a win, a runner-up, a seventh, and an eighth. She was victorious at the Liberty League Championship (22:00.9), helping the Engineers to the team title, and second at the Rowan Interregional Border Battle with a time of 21:22.0. Lee's seventh place finish was a personal record in the 6k (21:05.8), which came against competitors from multiple NCAA Divisions, while her eighth place finish was a 5k PR (18:33.8), also in a multi-divisional meet.

Lee also earned All-Region and was joined by teammates Nia Goddard (Malvern, PA / Conestoga), Leah Goodloe (Colorado Springs, CO / William J. Palmer), and Olivia Pisacano (Philadelphia, PA / Little Flower Catholic), all of whom finished the regional in the top 35.

RPI's men's team had seven All-Region honorees. They were Mitchell Dailey (Burrillville, RI / Burrillville), Jason GIbbons (Northport, NY / Northport), Will Hawkins (Tenafly, NJ / Tenafly), Cory Kennedy (Littleton, CO / Heritage), Matt Lecky (Middletown, CT / Middletown), Patrick Smyth (Farmingdale, NY / Farmingdale), and Connor Wooding (North Chili, NY / North Chili).

Both teams compete for NCAA Championships on Saturday at Forest Akers East Golf Course on the campus of Michigan State University in Lansing, Michigan. The women's race begins at 11am Eastern, followed by the men's race at 12pm Eastern.