DENVER - Boise State's Jeff Howard and Hawai'i's Ashley Aitken have been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference men and women's Cross Country Athletes of the Week, respectively, for the week of Oct. 13 - 19.
Howard, a sophomore from Spokane, Wash., led the Broncos with a second-place finish out of 173 runners at the Santa Clara Bronco Invite on Oct. 16. It was the second time in three meets Howard was the top finisher for Boise State. His performance helped the Broncos defeat three teams ranked in front of them: No. 1 Stanford, No. 5 UCLA and No. 15 Long Beach State.
Aitken, a senior from Napier, New Zealand, led the Rainbow Wahine with a sixth-place finish at the Santa Clara Bronco Invite. Aitken covered the 5K course in a personal-best time of 17:10, giving her the top 5K time in the WAC this season. This is the second straight year Aitken placed in the top six at the Bronco Invitational, and is the fourth top-six finish she has recorded this year.
Other women's nominees: Lauren Schaffer, Idaho; Samantha Diaz, Nevada; Camille Schultz New Mexico State
Other men's nominees: Olivier Collin, Fresno State; Markus Geiger, Idaho; Brian McKenna, Utah State