RICHMOND, Va.- After an exceptional debut race at the Spider Alumni Open, freshman Jonathan Hess was announced as Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week on Tuesday. 

In his first lifetime 6k, Hess led the Rams with an 18:10.7 time while securing a 7th-place finish and helping VCU finish 6th of the 13 teams in the meet. The 7th-place finish was the first top-10 individual finish by any Ram in the Spider Alumni Open since Bryce Cutlett placed 3rd in 2017. The 7th-place finish was also the highest of any freshman in the meet Saturday. 

The finish was also the best time at the Spider Alumni Open for any VCU runner since the event expanded from a 5k to a 6k in 2022. Additionally, Hess becomes the fourth fastest freshman in the Spider Alumni Open 6k history only trailing Georgetown's Charlie North (2023), UVA's Justin Wachtel (2022), and Georgetown's Mateo Althouse (2022). 

Hess hung with the front of the pack throughout the meet. He finished the first kilometer in just under three minutes (2:59.4) and was only one second behind the leader. He continued to run within 1.5 seconds of the lead through the first four kilometers before several runners from UVA and George Mason created separation in the fifth kilometer. By the end of the race, Hess passed American's Carver Morgan to secure his 7th-place finish. Hess also finished two spots behind George Mason's Biruk Beardsley who took home Performer of the Week honors. 

This is also the men's cross country program's first A-10 weekly honor since Kendall Phillips was named Rookie of the Week in 2021 after an 11th-place finish in the JMU Invitational 8k with a time of 27:37. Hess and the Rams compete once again on Friday, Sep. 12 in the CNU XC Invitational. The men's race at 5:30 PM with the women following at 6:20 PM.