St. Mary's University News Center

Jessica Waninger is this week's Heartland Conference Player of the Week in cross country.
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SAN ANTONIO – Jessica Waninger’s welcoming week to St. Mary's welcomed a first–place finish in the Texas A&M International University Invitational as well as the Heartland Conference Player of the Week award, the league announced.

Waninger, a junior from Santa Claus, Ind., transferred this year from the University of Texas–Tyler, where she was one of the most prolific runners in school history. She was named the conference’s Freshman of the Year in 2009 and was the team’s Most Valuable Runner both years on the squad.

Her success at her previous college carried across the finish line for the Rattlers with a five–minute pace and a 23 minute, 40 second first–place victory. The newcomer to the team didn’t shy away from excelling, giving the Rattlers confidence for success for the rest of the season as they finished second overall in the Texas A&M International University Invitational.

Waninger and the Rattlers will break away from the starting line again this Saturday morning at 8 a.m. at the Texas Lutheran Invitational in Seguin, Texas.

St. Mary’s University, as a Catholic Marianist University, fosters the formation of people in faith and educates leaders for the common good through community service, integrated liberal arts and professional education, and academic excellence. The University has six athletic national titles: men’s basketball (1989–NAIA), baseball (2001–NCAA Div. II), softball (1986–NAIA and 2002–NCAA Div. II) and an individual national champion in men’s golf (2006–NCAA Div. II) and a national academic championship in men’s golf (2009–NCAA Div. II). St. Mary’s also had more than 40 percent of its athletes named to conference, regional and/or national honor rolls this past year. St. Mary’s student–athletes graduation rate is 65 percent, higher than the NCAA Division II average of 55 percent. To learn more about St. Mary's, visit www.stmarytx.edu/athletics.