INDIANAPOLIS – University of Southern Indiana sophomore Johnnie Guy has been selected as the Great Lakes Valley Conference Runner of the Week for men’s cross country, it was announced by the conference office on Tuesday.  Guy finished first out of 313 competitors last Friday at the Michigan State University Spartan Invitational, placing ahead of 27 NCAA Division I runners with an 8,000-meter race time of 24 minutes, 9.00 seconds.

For his efforts last week, Guy was also named Monday as the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association’s Division II Men's National Runner of the Week.  The award marks the first time in school history that a USI competitor has garnered national runner of the week accolades. 

The Palmyra, Ind., native’s time was a second faster than runner-up Caleb Rhynard of Michigan State, who finished just ahead of Guy’s teammate Tyler Pence.

After spending last fall with Purdue University, where he qualified as an individual for the NCAA I National Championships, Guy transferred to USI at the semester break. He went on to earn All-America honors in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters last spring. He is in his first year with the Eagles' cross country team.

This is the first weekly honor for Guy and the first for the Eagles since Cody Stone was honored as Runner of the Week on Oct. 16, 2012.