University of Evansville cross-country runner Ryan Witters was named Missouri Valley Conference Athlete of the Week, as announced by the league office on Tuesday.

“He deserves it,” said head coach Don Walters. “That was the most exciting performance that I’ve seen out Ryan. He’s running at a high level and its awesome that the conference recognized him this week."

Ryan Witters finished third in a field of 51 runners Saturday to lead the University of Evansville men’s cross country team at the 8K Miami Invitational. Witters led the race until after the 6K mark, when a pack of five runners passed him. He fell back 50-meters, but began to pick up the pace with 600-meters to go. Witters caught the leaders and took over first-place before finally relinquishing the lead in the final 50 meters. His time of 25:40 was just two seconds behind champion Jarrod Eick of Miami.