United Athletic Conference

Seattle U's Eli Boudouris and NM State's Jess Dominguez have been named the Western Athletic Conference men's and women's Cross Country Athletes of the Week, respectively, for Oct. 8-14.

 

Boudouris, a senior from Portland, Ore., set a new PR in the 8k at the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational, finishing 18th among 176 runners with a time of 24:17.5. His time is the third-fastest in the WAC this season and the top time for an SU runner this season.

 

Dominguez, a sophomore from El Paso, Texas, clocked a WAC-best 17:29.1 in the 5k to place 11th among 251 runners at the Highlander Classic in Riverside, Calif. Her time is eight seconds faster than anyone else in the distance this season and she improved her season-best in the 5k by over 45 seconds. As a team, the Aggies finished second among 22 teams competing.

 

Other Men's Nominees: California Baptist's Simon Bedard took second in the 8k at the Highlander Classic with a time of 24:30.3 to lead the Lancers to the team title … Chicago State's Desmond Meyer recorded his second top-five finish of the season, taking fourth in the 8k at the Bradley Pink Classic with a time of 26:10.1 … Grand Canyon's Daniel Flores set a school record in the 8k at the Bronco Invitational, taking 24th in a time of 24:21.1 … NM State's Abel Ketema was the top finisher for the Aggies at the Highlander Classic, taking 19th in the 8k with a time of 25:07.7 … UT Rio Grande Valley's Abraham Chirchir took fifth in the 8k at the Arturo Barrios Invitational with a time of 24:26.2 … Utah Valley's Kevin Lynch placed 27th in the competitive Wisconsin Pre-Nationals, covering the 8k course in 24:28.1. 

 

Other Women's Nominees: California Baptist's Anna Mate was 12th in the 6k at the Arturo Barrios Invitational with a time of 20:57.8 … Grand Canyon's Elizabeth Balsan led the Lopes with a 21st-place finish in the 6k at the Bronco Invitational, posting a time of 20:57.4 … Seattle U's Rachel Kastama was 87th at the Bronco Invitational in a time of 21:56.0 … UT Rio Grande Valley's Mercy Chelangat shattered the school record in the 6k by 21.6 seconds, taking 10th at the Arturo Barrios Invitational in a time of 20:53.9 … Utah Valley's Aisha Graham-Perez paced the Wolverines at the Wisconsin Pre-Nationals, placing 111th in the 6k with a time of 21:49.9. 

 

The regular season is behind us as all nine WAC schools turn their attention towards the 2018 WAC Championships on Oct. 27 at Jefferson Park Golf Course in Seattle. The women are set to run the 6k at 10 a.m. local time while the men will run 8k for the trophy beginning at 11 a.m. local time. 

 

Three men's teams and three women's teams will head to the 2018 WAC Championship as recognized in the most recent USTFCCCA Regional Rankings. On the men's side, UT Rio Grande Valley is third in the South Central Region. In the Mountain Region, Utah Valley is 13th and NM State is 15th. For the women, UT Rio Grande Valley is fifth in the South Central Region, California Baptist is 11th in the West Region and Utah Valley is 14th in the Mountain Region.

 

The 2018 WAC Cross Country Championships are headed to Seattle and will be hosted by Seattle U. The event will take place at Jefferson Park Golf Course. The Kansas City men look for the three-peat as champions while the NM State women will look to defend their 2017 title.

 

The 2018 Cross Country Regionals will be held at nine sites throughout the country on Friday, Nov. 9. WAC teams will be represented in four locations. The West Region will be held in Sacramento (Host: Sacramento State), the Mountain Region will be held in Provo, Utah (Host: Brigham Young), the South Central Regional will take place in College Station, Texas (Host: Texas A&M) and the Midwest Region will take place in Peoria, Ill. (Host: Bradley). 

 

The 2018 Cross Country National Championships will take place in Madison, Wis. on Nov. 17, and is hosted by Wisconsin. The race will take place at Zimmer Championship Course. The top two teams from each regional will automatically qualify for the NCAA Championship, as well as 13 at-large teams as selected by the national committee. In addition, the top four individual finishers per region not on advancing teams will automatically qualify, as well as two at-large individuals. Selections will be accounced on Saturday, Nov. 10.