United Athletic Conference

Grand Canyon's Jacob Lewis and California Baptist's Anett Somogyi have been named the Western Athletic Conference Men's and Women's Cross Country Athletes of the Week, respectively, for Sept. 23-29.

 

Lewis, a redshirt freshman from Anthem, Ariz., led the Lopes for the third time in three races, taking 14th in the 8k at the Capital Cross Challenge with a time of 24:27.6. The mark, set in his first collegiate 8k, is the third fastest in the WAC this season.

 

Somogyi, a senior from Vezprem, Hungary, helped lead the Lancers to a team win at the Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis. The defending WAC champion finished ninth individually in the 6k with a time of 21:34.6. The Lancers beat out 22nd-ranked Minnesota and 24th-ranked Columbia to earn their second team title of the season.

 

Other Men's Nominees: California Baptist's McMarshal Hartzenberg earned a top-20 performance at the Roy Griak Invitational, taking 14th in the 8k with a time of 25:11.4 … Kansas City's Ryan Parson led the Roos at the Mizzou XC Challenge, taking 15th with a time of 25:51.5 … NM State's Michael Kirwa was the top Aggie finisher in the 8k at the Capital Cross Challenge, finishing 15th with a time of 24:29.0.

 

Other Women's Nominees: Grand Canyon's Paige Hildebrandt took 11th in the 6k at the Capital Cross Challenge with a personal best of 20:58.8 … Kansas City's Halley Dean was the 18th runner across the line at the Mizzou XC Challenge with a time of 22:47.2 … NM State's Richelle Sandin finished 27th at the Capital Cross Challenge with a  time of 21:20.1.

 

It's another busy week around the WAC as we are just a month away from the WAC Championships on Nov. 2 at Swope Park in Kansas City. On Friday, Utah Valley kicks off the schedule at the Joe Piane Invitational, hosted by Notre Dame. On Saturday, Grand Canyon heads across the valley to Mesa for the Thunderbird Classic, Kansas City travels to Lawrence, Kan. for the Rim Rock Classic, UT Rio Grande Valley previews the NCAA South Central regional course at the Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Ark. and Seattle U participates in the Sundodger Invitational, hosted by Washington.

 

After winning the Roy Griak Invitaitonal last weekend in Minneapolis, California Baptist made its debut in the USTFCCCA Women's National Poll, coming in at 30th.

 

Three men's teams and three women's teams were listed in the USTFCCCA Regional Cross Country Preseason Rankings. In the Mountain Region, the Utah Valley men sit at 15th while on the women's side, UVU comes in at 10th. UT Rio Grande Valley is ranked 12th on the men's side and 14th on the women's side in the South Central Region. In the West Region, the California Baptist men are ranked 10th and the women moved up one spot to sixth.

 

The 2019 WAC Cross Country Championships are headed to the Show-Me State and will be hosted by Kansas City. The event will take place at Swope Park. California Baptist will look for a second straight women's title while Utah Valley heads to KC as the defending champion on the men's side.

 

The 2019 Cross Country Regionals will be held at nine sites throughout the country on Friday, Nov. 15. WAC teams will be represented in four locations. The West Region will be held in Colfax, Wash. (Host: Washington State), the Mountain Region will be held in Salt Lake City (Host: Utah), the South Central Regional will take place in Fayetteville, Ark. (Host: Arkansas) and the Midwest Region will take place in Stillwater, Okla. (Host: Oklahoma State). 

 

The 2019 Cross Country National Championships will take place in Terre Haute, Ind. on Nov. 23, and is hosted by Indiana State. The race will take place at LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course.

 

A total of 11 WAC cross country teams were honored for their success in the classroom, as well as on the course, by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, earning Team Academic Awards.

 

Both the men and women from California Baptist, Grand Canyon, Kansas City, Seattle U and Utah Valley were honored. The NM State women also earned the academic award.

 

NM State had the top women's GPA among WAC schools at 3.67. Grand Canyon boasted the top GPA among the men's teams with a 3.63 mark. To qualify, a team must hold a combined cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.