Brittany Aikens Heads to the NAIA National Championships

GAINESVILLE, Ga - The Brenau University athletics department has named Brittany Aikens the Golden Tiger of the Week. Her performance at the SSAC Conference Meet helped Brenau finish 7th out of the 12 teams that competed at the Choctaw Trails.

The freshman from Braselton, Georgia, ran right along side the best veterans in the conference during the 5k meet. She placed 7th out of 83 runners, with a time of 19:22.73. The top three places at conference were seniors followed by two sophomores. Brittany was beat out by the SSAC Freshman of the Year by just tenths of a second (19:22.02)

Finishing in the top 10, Aikens was named a member of the 2011 SSAC All-Conference Team. Coaches also selected her to be a member of the 2011 SSAC All-Freshman Team, based on her times throughout the season.

Yesterday, the NAIA announced team and individual qualifiers for the 2011 Championships, and Brittany will be the first runner to ever represent Brenau at the national event. She has broken school records all season long, but she has truly made her mark now by qualifying for nationals.

Aikens will travel to Fort Vancouver National Historic Site in Vancouver, Washington, for the 2011 NAIA Cross Country Championships. The 32nd Annual Women's event will take place on Saturday, November 19th, at 11:45am (pst).