NEW YORK -- Junior men's cross country standout Brendan Martin and senior women's soccer star Sophie Reiser have been named Columbia's Student-Athletes of the Month for October. Martin was the top finisher for the first-place men's cross country team at the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships at Van Cortlandt Park, while Reiser etched her name into Columbia's record books with a standout month.

Martin's fifth place finish at the 2009 Ivy League Heptagonal Cross Country Championships proved to be the determining factor as the Lions came away with a 60-61 victory over Princeton for the closest Heps finish in 37 years. It was Columbia's third Ivy League championship title in men's cross country, and first since 2004.

Martin finished the race in 25:31.2, nearly simultaneously with Cornell's top runner, and the fraction difference in times led to the one-point win. Martin has been one of Columbia's top runners all season, as he was the top finisher for the Lions at Pre-Nationals, coming in 46th overall with a time of 24:29.6. The junior was also key in the men's second-place finish at the George Mason Invitational earlier in the month, as he led the Lions with a fourth-place showing.

Reiser had three goals, including a pair of game-winners, and two assists in October, helping the Lions to three victories on the pitch. The reigning Ivy League Player of the Year scored the decisive goals against Marist and Yale, with the one against the Bulldogs accounting for the match's lone tally.

The senior forward also had a stellar game against Penn, closing with a goal and two assists in a 4-2 win. The two helpers moved Reiser into sole possession of first place on Columbia's all-time career assists list.  She was also recently named to the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District I first team for the second straight year.