DENVER - Utah Valley's Jason Lynch and UT Rio Grande Valley's Krysta Martinez have been named Western Athletic Conference Male and Female Cross Country Runners of the Week, respectively, for Aug. 30 - Sep. 5.
Lynch, a senior from Sandy, Utah (Hillcrest HS), opened the season with a second-place finish at the Utah State Sagebrush Invitational. The reigning WAC individual champion ran a 20:58.53 to finish three seconds shy of the top spot and ahead of 48 other runners. As a team, the Wolverines took fourth against some of the nation's top programs.
Martinez, a freshman from Edcouch, Texas (Edcouch Elsa HS), made her collegiate debut at the RGV duals and placed second to lead the Vaqueros to their first-ever head-to-head victory against rival Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. She covered the 3,200-meter course in 11:42.96 to finish ahead of 17 other runners.
Other male nominees: Grand Canyon's Samuel Proctor was the top finisher for the Lopes with a time of 23:39.70 at the George Kyte Classic … UMKC's Marcus Johnson led the ‘Roos with a sixth-place finish at the Bob Timmons Classic … NM State's David Colmenero took third in a dual meet against Texas Tech, running a 21:03.20 … Seattle U's Joe Charbonneau ran with the lead pack before finishing eighth in a dual meet against eighth-ranked Washington.
Other female nominees: CSU Bakersfield's Angel Valdez finished ninth overall among 46 runners at the Pepperdine Invitational … Grand Canyon's Mariah Montoya took 12th at the George Kyte Classic to lead the Lopes … UMKC's Kelly Carpenter ran a 19:45.8 to take 12th in the Bob Timmons Classic 5k … NM State's Meghan Aguilera took third against Texas Tech, covering the 5k course in 18:34.90 … Seattle U's Moira O'Connor Lenth was the first Redhawk across the line in a dual-meet with Washington … Utah Valley's Savannah Berry led the Wolverines at the Sagebrush Invitational, finishing 10th among 72 runners.