WAC Cross Country Athletes of the Week Announced
DENVER – 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 Aug. 27-Sept. 2.
Chirchir, a freshman from Iten, Kenya, won his first collegiate cross country race at the Texas A&M Aggie Opener, earning victory in the men's 6k with a time of 18:34.9 against a field of 54 runners. He led the Vaqueros to a second-place finish as a team, trailing only host Texas A&M, who entered the season ranked third in the USTFCCCA South Central Region Rankings. His time is the fifth-fastest 6k time in school history and the quickest since 2005.
Chelangat, a freshman from Kericho, Kenya, became the first UTRGV women's runner to win a race since 2012 with a 1.6-second victory in the women's 4.1 k. She posted a time of 14:31.3 to finish ahead of a field of 55 runners and help lead UTRGV to a second-place team finish. The Vaqueros finished ahead of UTSA, the 14th-ranked team in the USTFCCCA South Central Region Rankings.
Other Men's Nominees: California Baptist's Simon Bedard finished eighth at the Mark Covert Invitational with a new personal best of 26:01.6 over the 8k course ... Chicago State's Desmond Meyer recorded his first top-five finish with a fourth-place performance at the NIU Huskie Challenge ... NM State's James McClain led the Aggies in the first race of his sophomore season, taking 12th at the Lobo Invitational ... Utah Valley's Anthony Ocegueda paced the Wolverines with a second-place finish at the UVU Invitational.
Other Women's Nominees: California Baptist's Anna Mate had a strong collegiate debut, taking second at the Mark Covert Invitational with a time of 17:52.5 ... Chicago State's Brenda Jepkoech led the Cougars with a 15th-place finish at the NIU Huskie Challenge ... NM State's Julia Yescasled the Aggie women with a 10th-place finish at the Lobo Invitational ... Utah Valley's Hannah Branch finished second at the UVU Invitational to lead the Wolverines to a first-place team finish.