SCIAC Honors Lydens For Third Time This Fall

Claremont, Calif. - Junior Annie Lydens (Tokyo, Japan) was named the SCIAC Female Athlete of the Week for the third time this season, it was announced today by the league office.

Lydens earned this week's honor after recording the best finish for a Pomona-Pitzer Cross Country athlete (male or female) in the history of the Division III Championships. Lydens finished third overall at nationals, breaking the previous best of fifth-place set by Crosby Freeman at the 2004 Men's National Championships. On the women's side, Lydens broke her own program record of a ninth-place finish which she set last year.

In addition, Lydens also broke the program record in the 6K, crossing the line with a time of 21.02, which was 25 seconds faster than she ran last year on her way to the ninth-place finish. She easily earned All-America honors with her performance (the top 35 finishers earn All-America distinction) and has now been named an All-American three times, including once in Outdoor Track and Field after finishing second at the nationals in the 5000 meters last spring.

Lydens did not start competing competitively in distance events until her sophomore year, and has responded with three top-10 finishes in her first three seasons. As a freshman, she only competed in one cross country race due to a foot injury, and then competed in the middle-distance (800 meters) during track season.

Lydens, who also carries a 4.0 grade point average at Pomona, plans to compete in both the 1500 and the 5000 meters this spring, and is expected to be in the hunt for national championships in both events.

Lydens and sophomore forward Jake Klewer (Tucson, Ariz.) of the men's basketball team enabled Pomona-Pitzer to sweep the SCIAC weekly awards this week.