CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Senior Shamai Larsen, of the Austin Peay State University women's cross country team as well as a member of the APSU ROTC program, was awarded the Bronze Cross of Achievement, an award handed out to the top eight senior ROTC cadets in the nation.

Larsen is the first Austin Peay senior to win the award.

Larsen is competing in her first Lady Govs cross country season of cross country after competing in track and field last spring. Her best cross country meet this season came in the season-opening Sewanee Invitational, where she finished 37th with a 21:05.04 mark.

"Anytime an individual wins an award like this, it shows the kind of person we have in our program," said head coach Doug Molnar. "She puts the same kind of effort into her racing and classes that she does in her military training, and it definitely."

After enlisting in the Army in 2003 and achieving the rank of staff sergeant, Larsen was discovered by Austin Peay's coaches at a local road race.

Larsen's achievement adds to a growing list of accomplishments for Austin Peay's ROTC program. In 2001, Austin Peay was named the top ROTC program in the country and in 2008, it won the MacArthur Award as one of the best programs in the nation.