Williamsburg, KY – Being a vital part of their team's success, runners Lea Kunstmann and Ishak Mekideche have been selected as the November Athletes of the Month presented by The Brick Oven, the athletic department announced Monday. The University of the Cumberlands Athletic Department in conjunction with their corporate partner, The Brick Oven, are presenting the "The Brick Oven Athletes of the Month", which will be awarded to the top two student-athletes each month.
 
Lea Kunstmann earned athlete of the month honors after a terrific postseason performance.  She opened the month by running away from the field to capture first place at the Mid-South Conference Championships.  The freshman crossed the line in 22:23.59, to win the race by 28 seconds.  In addition, Kunstmann was named the MSC Runner of the Year and the MSC Freshman of the Year.  Kunstmann followed that up clocking a 21:39.3 over the 6k course to place 13^th at the NAIA National Championships.  It is the second-best individual finish by a Patriot runner in program history.
 
Ishak Mekideche earned athlete of the month honors after an incredible start to his Patriot career.  The freshman won the Mid-South Conference Championship race, crossing the line in 25:36.18.  He helped the Patriots capture the team title with a perfect score and was named the MSC Runner of the Year and the MSC Freshman of the Year.  At nationals, Mekideche stayed with the front group throughout the 8k course placing fifth overall with a time of 24:34.6.  The fifth-place finish is tied for the second highest individual finish at a NAIA Championship in program history, while he helped UC to a third place finish in the team title.
 
Both of these runners will now set their sights on indoor season, which kicks off this week. 
 
For the latest and most up-to-date information on University of the Cumberlands Athletics. Please visit www.cumberlandspatriots.com. Follow us on Twitter- @UC_Patriots and @UCPatsGameday, Instagram- @UCPatriots, TikTok- @ucpatriots, Youtube- Cumberlands Patriots, and Facebook by searching University of the Cumberlands Athletics.