NEW ORLEANS - Letitia Saayman of the Coastal Carolina women's cross country team earned the NCAA DI Cross Country Southeast Region Athlete of the Year, becoming the first ever Chanticleer to receive this honor.

Saayman is coming off two back to back first place finishes with both earning her a title. The first came in the NCAA Southeast Regional where she captured the regional title and became the first Chanticleer to accomplish this feat. Saayman competed against nationally ranked schools and beat some of the top runners in the region finishing with a time of 20:25. The second first place finish came in the Big South Championships where Saayman earned her second Big South title of her career. Saayman also broke the Big South Championship 5k course record by 17 seconds with a time of 16:49.

By finishing in the top 25 at NCAA Regionals, Saayman earned all-region honors and is eligible to advance to the NCAA Championship meet. The top four finishers at each of the nine regionals from non-qualifying teams automatically advance, along with two at-large individuals. A total of 31 teams make the NCAA meet - the top two from each regional and 13 at-large selections.

This will be the second consecutive year Saayman has earned a trip to the NCAA meet and has a respectable chance at earning an All-American honor this weekend.

Saayman will head to Louisville, Ky. to compete for the NCAA DI National Championship on Saturday Nov. 21. The women's 6k will begin at noon. Watch live at http://www.ncaa.com/liveschedule/2015/11/21