EVANSVILLE, Ind.—University of Southern Indiana senior All-American Mary Ballinger was named the GLVC Women's Track Athlete of the Week for her performance at the Gladstein Invitational in Bloomington, Indiana, last Friday.

Ballinger finished fifth in the 3,000-meter invitational with a GLVC-best time of 10 minutes, 00.13 seconds. The six-time All-American leads the rest of the conference in the 3,000 meters by 43 seconds and ranks first in the nation in the mile with her adjusted NCAA II provisional qualifying time of four minutes, 54.64 seconds.

A food and nutrition major, Ballinger won the 2009 national championship in the 3,000-meter steeplechase last spring and finished fifth at the NCAA II Cross Country Championships last fall.

This marks the first time in Ballinger's career that she has been named the GLVC Indoor Track Athlete of the Week. She has earned the honor three times in outdoor track and was named the GLVC Runner of the Week in cross country five times during her three years in a USI uniform.

The Screaming Eagles return to action Friday when they compete at the Indiana University Relays in Bloomington.