WALTHAM, Mass. -- Brandeis University junior Kelsey Whitaker (Kingston, Mass./Notre Dame Acad.) earned University Athletic Association women's track athlete of the week honors this week for her performance at the next-to-last meet of the season.

After finishing runner-up in the 1,500-meter run at the 2015 ECAC Division III Championships at Springfield College last week with a personal-best time of 4:33.19, Whitaker qualified for her third NCAA Division III Championship of the 2014-15 season. After shaving three seconds off her previous best time, Whitaker will be seeded 20th out of 22 runners at the meet. The NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships will be held at St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y., May 21-23. Whitaker will run in the second heat of the women's 1,500, which will take place tomorrow at 3:45 p.m. If she is one of the top four in her heat or one of the four next-best times, she will qualify for Satyurday's final at 1:30 p.m.

Whitaker previously competed at the 2014 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships, finishing 210th overall, and at the 2015 Indoor Track and Field Championships, finishing 17th in the mile run. She also competed at both of those championships in 2013-14. This will be her first trip to the Outdoor Track and Field championships.