MILWAUKEE, Wis. (naccsports.org) --- Aurora University junior Susana Martinez (Aurora, Ill.) and Milwaukee School of Engineering senior Sam McPeak (Dublin, Ohio) have been named Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Cross Country Student-Athletes of the Week for the week of Oct. 26-Nov. 1, 2026, as selected by the league's athletics communications professionals.

This is the fourth NACC weekly award for McPeak this season and the second for Martinez.

Men --- Sam McPeak, Sr., Milwaukee School of Engineering
MSOE senior Sam McPeak won the men's individual title at the 2026 NACC Cross Country Championships with a time of 25:05.3. He was near the front of a tight lead pack after the first mile. At that point, he and Concordia Wisconsin's Isaiah Lubner broke out from the pack. The pair held a six-second lead at the 4.5-kilometer mark. McPeak then used the final 3.5 kilometers to put some distance between himself and the field, while Lubner fell back into the clutches of a charging Nolan Pinion of MSOE. McPeak's victory gave MSOE its fifth individual champion overall, and its third in the last five years.

Women --- Susana Martinez, Jr., Aurora University
Aurora junior Susana Martinez was a wire-to-wire winner in the pursuit of the women's individual crown at the 2026 NACC Cross Country Championships. She led led by four seconds after 1.1 kilometers, then extended her advantage to 26 seconds at the 3.3-kilometer split and 1:04 at the 5.5-kilometer sprint, before tacking on four more seconds over the final 500 meters to stop the clock in 22:41.6 - 67.8 seconds clear of the field. It was the eighth time that an Aurora runner has claimed the women's individual title - a distinction spread across six individuals.