After finishing fifth in last weekend’s Sean Earl Loyola Lakefront Invitational, women’s cross country star Sharon Dickie was named Lady Vol Athlete of the Week.

Dickie finished fifth at the Chicago event last weekend to pace the Lady Vols. The sophomore posted a time of 21:40 marked her name in the record books as it was the first time that a Tennessee team has ran a 6K race.

Sharon has made incredible progress throughout the year, head coach Rodney Rothoff said. I know she will continue to progress.

Dickie has been the consistent team leader for the Lady Vols this season. In all three events, she has been the highest finisher for Tennessee, including her first career victory at the UT Invitational.

Sharon has had a great season for us, Rothoff said. She has slowly but surely been coming around and now she’s dusting the rust off of her great start.

This is Dickie’s first year back after redshirting last season due an inflammatory hip injury. However, the Grand Blanc, Mich. native has made a tremendous comeback after a year of absence.

I have tried to take some of the pressure off of her as it is, Rothoff said. She doesn’t need to have any pressure on her but she still takes care of things.

As a freshman in 1998, Dickie earned All-SEC and All-Region selections.

Dickie will once again lead the Lady Vol cross country team back to action in the Furman Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 14.