Fresno State’s Erick Garcia and Idaho’s Allix Lee-Painter have been named the Western Athletic Conference men and women’s Cross Country Athletes of the Week, respectively, for the week of Sept. 1-7.
Garcia, a sophomore from Parlier, Calif. (Parlier HS), finished fifth, ahead of 130 other runners at the UC Irvine Asics Invitational on Saturday, leading the Bulldogs to a sixth place team finish. Garcia ran the 8K course in 25:36.20.
Lee-Painter, a senior from Moscow, Idaho (Moscow HS), won the Clash of the Inland Northwest title on Saturday, registering a 4K time of 15:20.4. Lee-Painter defeated a group of 41 runners from Washington State, Eastern Washington and Gonzaga, winning by a comfortable 22-second margin. She helped Idaho to a second place team finish.
Other Men’s Nominees: Boise State’s Cameron Lockard placed fourth at the Roger Curran Invitational with a 6K time of 19:33.72 ... New Mexico State’s Ian Ruybalid led the Aggie men with an 8K time of 26:45.96, placing him 16th ... Utah State’s Ben Kessen finished seventh to lead the Aggie men to a second place team finish, clocking a four-mile time of 21:30.4.
Other Women’s Nominees: Boise State’s Kayleen McDowell took third with a 4K time of 15:10.50 at the Roger Curran Invitational, helping BSU to a first place team finish ... Fresno State’s Marissa McPhail clocked a 5K time of 19:15.30 to place 54th ... New Mexico State runner Ingrid Flores placed third at the Lobo Invitational with a 5K time of 18:45.00 ... Utah State’s Jessie Chugg finished ninth at the BYU Autumn Classic with a 5K time of 20:03.5.