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UTRGV'S HERRERA, UTAH VALLEY'S WALKER NAMED WAC ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
UT Rio Grande Valley's Alberto Herrera and Utah Valley's McKayla Walker have been named the Western Athletic Conference men's and women's Cross Country Athletes of the Week, respectively, for Sept. 18-24.
Herrera, a junior from Weslaco, Texas, won the Islander Splash after crossing the finish line of the four-mile race with a time of 19:29.3. Herrera set a new program record in the four-mile race, breaking the previous record set by Westly Keating in 2002 by almost six seconds. He finished four seconds ahead of the second-place finisher out of 24 Division I runners as he guided the men's team to a first-place team finish.
Walker, a senior from Riverton, Utah, won the UNLV Invitational, finishing the 5k with a time 17:32. Walker guided a pack of seven Wolverine runners to place inside the Top 10 on the day as the UVU women's team picked up its second overall team win of the season.
Other Men's Nominees: Utah Valley's Tyson Lambert ran a personal-best time of 18:16 in the 6k to win the UNLV Invitational.
Other Women's Nominees: UT Rio Grande Valley's Krysta Martinez placed fifth out of 22 runners at the Islander Splash, finishing the 5k with a time of 20:05.8.
SEVEN TEAMS IN ACTION THIS WEEKEND
Seven WAC teams are in action on Saturday, as CSU Bakersfield travels to Santa Clarita, Calif., for the Mustang Challenge, while Chicago State and Grand Canyon travel to Louisville, Ky., for the Greater Louisville Classic. Kansas City heads to Lawrence, Kan., for the Rim Rock Classic, while NM State travels to Sacramento, Calif., for the Capital Challenge. Seattle U will head to Salem, Ore., for the Willamette Invitational and UT Rio Grande Valley will participate in the Chili Pepper in Fayetteville, Ark.
REGIONALLY RANKED
Four men's teams and one women's team are listed in the Sept. 25 USTFCCCA Regional Cross Country rankings. The UMKC men are ranked 14th in the Midwest Region. In the Mountain Region, Utah Valley is ranked 12th, while NM State is 14th. Grand Canyon is ranked 14th in the West Region. On the women's side, Utah Valley is ranked 13th in the Mountain Region.
WAC CHAMPIONSHIPS
The 2017 WAC Cross Country Championships are in Las Cruces, N.M. and will be hosted by NM State. The event will take place at the NMSU Golf Course. The Kansas City men look to repeat as champions while the Utah Valley women will attempt a three-peat.