TOWSON, Md. --- Moravian University junior Tara Smurla has earned the Landmark Conference Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Week honor for the third straight week for her performance last week.

Smurla led the Greyhounds individually at the Stockton University Osprey Open as she finished third of the 180 runners with a time of 22:44.10 on the 6,000-meter course that will host the NCAA Division III Metro Regional in November. Moravian placed fourth of 20 teams in the meet.

"Last week Tara put a bit of a target on her back by taking the lead before the mile mark and having to do all the leg work for the field from then on out," noted Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Jesse Baumann. "She adapted and her patience allowed her to move through the race better in the later stages It wasn't the fastest she's ever run due in part to this strategy and also some warm racing conditions, but tactically it was her best race of the season which will pay big dividends as we progress through the season. It was great to see her end our first block of races on a positive note to have some momentum going into an important block of training in our schedule."

The Hounds are not scheduled to return to action until Saturday, October 5 when the squad will compete in the Annual Paul Short Run at Lehigh University's Goodman Campus.