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Akbar and O’Brien Capture Patriot League Track Athlete Honors
Senior duo had outstanding races at Penn Relays

April 29, 2003

Samia Akbar was named Patriot League Women's Track Runner of the Week.	Sean O'Brien earned Patriot League Men's Track Runner of the Week honors.

WASHINGTON — American University seniors Samia Akbar (Herndon, Va./Oakton) and Sean O’Brien (Tewksbury, Mass./Winnisquam Regional) swept the Patriot League Track Athlete of the Week honors following impressive showings at the Penn Relays. The award is O’Brien’s fourth this season while Akbar wins for the third time and second time in three weeks.

Akbar ran in the 10,000-meters for the first time in her career at the Penn Relays and finished second in the Championship of America race. Akbar ran a school-record time of 34:17.48 to break the old mark by nearly four minutes. Her time provisionally qualified her for the NCAA Championships as she missed the automatic mark by just seven seconds. Akbar’s time is currently 17th in the country.

O’Brien ran on two AU relay squads as both broke school records at the Penn Relays. First, he anchored the distance medley relay (DMR) squad to a seventh place finish in the Championship of America as he ran a 4:03 split for his mile. The DMR team set a new school record, running 9:38.78. The next day, O’Brien ran a 4:03 split as the second leg on the 4xMile Relay as the squad finished fifth in the Championship of America. The 4xMile team broke the school record, running 16:34.35.

The American University Track and Field team returns to action this weekend at the Patriot League Championships in Lewisburg, Pa. The meet begins on Friday afternoon.

American University, which fields a 19-sport NCAA Division I athletics program featuring 10 women’s sports and nine for men, is in its second year of membership in the Patriot League. Since joining the Patriot League, the University has captured league championships in men’s cross country, women’s cross country, women’s lacrosse, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, men’s tennis, women’s tennis and women’s volleyball, and a regular-season title in men’s basketball.

American became a full member of the Patriot League on July 1, 2001. Chartered by an Act of Congress in 1893, the University features students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and more than 160 nations worldwide.