Missouri State’s Leander Ernest has been named this week’s Missouri Valley Conference Female Track Athlete of the Week, the league office announced Wednesday, April 24.

Ernest claimed a victory in the 800-meter invitational race with a time of 2:06.45 at the Kansas Relays last weekend. Ernest came through the halfway point in second with a 61-second split before charging to the front in the final straight. Her time is the 17th fastest in the nation this season and tops the Missouri Valley Conference’s performance list. The time also surpasses the NCAA qualifying standard of 2:09.80 needed to earn a trip to the NCAA Mideast Regional Championship.

The Bears track and field squad will be back in action Thursday-Saturday, April 24-26, in Des Moines, Iowa for the Drake University Relays.