STATESBORO - Georgia Southern freshman Merabu Nagwandala has been named the Sun Belt Conference's Women's Track Athlete of the Week, announced today by league officials.

Nagwandala broke the Georgia Southern school record in the 1500 meters during Saturday's South Carolina Gamecock Invitational in Columbia, S.C. She ran the race in a time of 4:33.90, which smashed the previous record of 4:36.59, set by Sherrill McFarlane in 2014. Overall, Nagwandala finished third in the race out of 59 competitors.

The freshman from Kampala, Uganda, already owns the Eagles' outdoor record in the 5000 meters in this, her debut campaign.

"Congratulations to Merabu," Georgia Southern Head Women's Track and Field Coach Kelly Carter said. "It was a very gutty performance at South Carolina, with a lot of great competitors and a lot of great competition. We're very proud of her!'

Nagwandala is the first Georgia Southern runner to earn Sun Belt Outdoor Track weekly honors since Ashton Lord on February 15, 2017.

Nagwandala and the Eagles are next in action on Friday and Saturday at the Georgia Tech Invitational in Atlanta, Ga.