# UK transfer Lemirisho earns SEC runner of week honors **Published:** 2026-09-15T21:19:08.000Z **Source:** [UK Athletics](https://ukathletics.com/news/2026/09/15/ann-lemirisho-named-sec-womens-runner-of-the-week/) **AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) **Canonical:** https://feeds.lexingtonky.news/article/uk-transfer-lemirisho-earns-sec-runner-of-week-honors University of Kentucky cross country runner Ann Lemirisho has been named the Southeastern Conference Women's Runner of the Week, the conference announced Tuesday, following an impressive debut for the Wildcats at the Tennessee Invitational. Lemirisho, a sophomore transfer from the University of Cincinnati, won the women's 3-mile race with a time of 15:54.7 in her first career event wearing a Kentucky uniform, [according to UK Athletics](https://ukathletics.com/news/2026/09/15/ann-lemirisho-named-sec-womens-runner-of-the-week/). The honor caps a successful transition to the SEC after a standout freshman campaign with the Bearcats. During her 2025 season at Cincinnati, Lemirisho won two invitational events at the RedHawk Rumble and Angel Mounds Invitational. She then placed fourth at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, earning a berth to the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, where she posted a season-best 5-kilometer time of 19:47.4. "Congratulations to Ann on being named SEC Runner of the Week," UK cross country coach Tito Medrano said in a statement. "She did a great job leading her team this past weekend. As a staff, we're proud of her efforts and happy to see her hard work coming to fruition." Lemirisho's immediate success suggests Kentucky's cross country program may have added a key contributor to its lineup. The Wildcats' next competition is scheduled for Sept. 25 at the Gans Creek Classic in Columbia, Missouri, the first of two trips the team will make to the event this season. ## Sources - [UK Athletics](https://ukathletics.com/news/2026/09/15/ann-lemirisho-named-sec-womens-runner-of-the-week/) --- This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from UK Athletics. The original source is available at https://ukathletics.com/news/2026/09/15/ann-lemirisho-named-sec-womens-runner-of-the-week/.