This Week in WAC Cross Country - Sept. 26
This Week in WAC Cross Country - Sept. 26
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UTRGV'S CHIRCHIR, CHELANGAT NAMED WAC CROSS COUNTRY ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
UT Rio Grande Valley's Abraham Chirchir and Mercy Chelangat have been named the Western Athletic Conference men's and women's Cross Country Athletes of the Week, respectively, for Sept. 17 - 23.
Chirchir, a freshman from Iten, Kenya, took second in the 8k at the Texas A&M Invitational. His time of 23:51.83 is fastest for the distance in the WAC this season and ranks him ninth nationally among freshman according to FloTrack. He was just 8.55 seconds behind the winner as he helped lead the Vaqueros to a fourth-place team finish among 14 teams.
Chelangat, a freshman from Kericho, Kenya, won the 6k at the Texas A&M Invitational with a time of 21:14.03. The mark set a new UTRGV record in the distance and she was over a half-minute quicker than the second-place finisher. As a team, the Vaqueros took third out of 13, finishing ahead of several regionally ranked programs.
Other Men's Nominees: Seattle U's Nathan Pixler paced the Redhawks at the Oregon Bill Dellinger Invitational, running the 8k course in 25:47.2 to finish 17th among 44 runners.
Other Women's Nominees: Seattle U's Megan Delorey led the Redhawks at the Oregon Bill Dellinger Invitational, taking 35th in the 6k with a time of 22:21.6.
UP NEXT
The schedule ramps up this week with seven of nine schools in action across the country. Utah Valley is first to run, taking to the course at the Joe Piane Invitational on Friday in South Bend, Ind. On Saturday, California Baptist will be at the Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis, CSU Bakersfield heads to The Master's Invitational in Santa Clarita, Calif., Grand Canyon and NM State meet up at the Capital XC Challenge in Sacramento, Calif., Chicago State competes at the Loyola Lakefront Invitational in Chicago and Kansas City heads to Lawrence, Kan. for the Rim Rock Classic.
REGIONALLY RANKED
Four men's teams and a pair of women's teams are mentioned in the most recent USTFCCCA Regional Rankings. On the men's side, Kansas City is ranked 15th in the Midwest Region while Utah Valley is 11th in the Mountain Region. NM State is 15th in the Mountain Region and UT Rio Grande Valley makes its regional rankings debut at 11th in the South Central Region. For the women, UT Rio Grande Valley is up to ninth in the South Central Region and California Baptist is 14th in the West Region.
TEXAS FAST
When UT Rio Grande Valley duo Abraham Chirchir and Mercy Chelangat won the Texas A&M Aggie Opener on Aug. 31, it marked the first time since prior to 2004 that UTRGV swept the men's and women's races at a meet. It was also UTRGV's first women's win since 2012.
WAC CHAMPIONSHIPS
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.
NCAA REGIONALS
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).
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
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.
UT Rio Grande Valley's Abraham Chirchir and Mercy Chelangat have been named the Western Athletic Conference men's and women's Cross Country Athletes of the Week, respectively, for Sept. 17 - 23.
Chirchir, a freshman from Iten, Kenya, took second in the 8k at the Texas A&M Invitational. His time of 23:51.83 is fastest for the distance in the WAC this season and ranks him ninth nationally among freshman according to FloTrack. He was just 8.55 seconds behind the winner as he helped lead the Vaqueros to a fourth-place team finish among 14 teams.
Chelangat, a freshman from Kericho, Kenya, won the 6k at the Texas A&M Invitational with a time of 21:14.03. The mark set a new UTRGV record in the distance and she was over a half-minute quicker than the second-place finisher. As a team, the Vaqueros took third out of 13, finishing ahead of several regionally ranked programs.
Other Men's Nominees: Seattle U's Nathan Pixler paced the Redhawks at the Oregon Bill Dellinger Invitational, running the 8k course in 25:47.2 to finish 17th among 44 runners.
Other Women's Nominees: Seattle U's Megan Delorey led the Redhawks at the Oregon Bill Dellinger Invitational, taking 35th in the 6k with a time of 22:21.6.