SIOUX FALLS, S.D.—South Dakota junior cross country runner Abby Ripperda received The Summit League's October Athlete of the Month as announced by the league on Wednesday. She becomes the first Coyote to garner the award in 2019-20.
 
Ripperda, who earned four Summit League Athlete of the Week honors during the season, garners the Summit's monthly honor for the first time of her career. She becomes the second Coyote distance runner to receive a monthly award, following alum Eldon Warner's 2018 honor.
 
A native of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Ripperda's October included a win at the Bradley Pink Classic and an eighth-place finish at the Chile Pepper Festival. She clocked 16:45.5 for 5,000 meters at the Chile Pepper Festival to top the Summit League charts this fall and rank second all-time in league history. Her 6,000-meter time of 20:49.9 at the Bradley Pink Classic sits second in the Summit this fall.
 
Ripperda earned a spot on the all-Summit League first team on Saturday with a fourth-place finish at the Summit League Championships.
 
South Dakota resumes action at the NCAA Midwest Regional on Nov. 15 in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
 
2019-20 Summit League Athletes of the Month
 

August/September	Dante Brigida, Oral Roberts, soccer	Elyse Huber, North Dakota State, soccer
October	Tanguy Guerineau, Oral Roberts, soccer	Abby Ripperda, South Dakota, cross country
		Maggie Smither, South Dakota State, soccer