FULTON, Mo.- William Woods University Women's Cross Country runner Crystal Ruden and Men's Golf's Spencer Worley were named student-athletes of the month for October.

Ruden, a staple for WWU XC from Urbandale, Iowa, set a career best at the NAIA Blazing Tiger Preview hosted by Doane University finishing 12th out of 298 competitors with a new personal best time of 22:17.9. She also set the standard for William Woods with an eighth place finish at the Seminole Valley Stampede hosted by Mount Mercy, the same course that the Heart of America Athletic Conference will host their conference championships this coming weekend. 

A standout senior from Walsall, England, Spencer Worley closed out an impressive Fall season in the month of October. Worley led Woods in all three tournaments he played. He finished atop the leaderboards at the Missouri Baptist University Invitational and the CC Cougar Classic Fall Invitational while coming in second at the Virginia McCoy Invitational hosted by Park. In each of these tournaments WWU won the team title, with Worley leading the way in each.

William Woods University Student-Athlete of the Month Honors are awarded to the student-athletes who received the most votes. Each month, athletes are nominated by faculty, staff and school personnel. These nominees are placed into the voting system and are selected based on the results of a panel of seven senior members of the athletic department.