SHERMAN, Texas - Austin College Athletics is excited to announce the Modern Woodmen Fraternal Financial Student-Athlete of the Week, an award highlighing our great student-athletes on and off the field of play each week. This week's honoree is 'Roo cross country and distance track runner Hannah Richards.

Richards, a senior from Pace, Florida, originally came to Austin College as a member of the women's basketball team, spending two seasons with the program before joining the women's cross country team. Amazingly, despite the success she would soon achieve, she had never competed in either cross country or track in high school but quickly emerged as one of the top performers in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. This past year after battling through injuries, she placed 17th at the SCAC Cross Country Championship. As a junior, in her first season of competitive running, she was the conference's 15th-place finisher. 

During that junior campaign, Richards helped guide the 'Roos to a 24th place finish at the NCAA Division III South/Southeast Regional Championship, taking 43rd place overall with an Austin College-record time of 22:58.5 in the 6K event. Last April, Richards also excelled at the SCAC Track and Field Championship Meet, setting a program record in the 1500 meter event with a time of 4:52.06, good for third place and earning her All-Conference honors. As her senior season gets underway in a few weeks, she'll be looking to duplicate her success for head coach Bryan Garcia in 2019.