United Athletic Conference

Utah Valley's Kevin Lynch and California Baptist's Emilie Renaud have been named the Western Athletic Conference Men's and Women's Cross Country Athletes of the Week, respectively, for Oct. 14 - 20.

 

Lynch, a senior from Sandy, Utah, won the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational with a time of 23:42.3, outshining 178 other competitors on the 8k course. The individual win helped lead the Wolverines to a second-place team finish among 23 teams. The run was Lynch's third top-five finish and his first individual win of the season. 

 

Renaud, a sophomore from Clermont-Ferrand, France, led the Lancers to a third-straight team title at the Arturo Barrios Invitational. Individually, she took ninth in the 6k with a time of 20:39.5. The mark was the seventh-fastest in CBU history as the Lancers finished six points ahead of second-place Middle Tennessee State and far ahead of third-place Florida, fourth-place Texas A&M and fifth-place Arizona State.

 

Other Men's Nominees: California Baptist's Manuel Peris Bruno led the Lancers at the Arturo Barrios Invitational, taking 12th with a time of 24:04.6 … Grand Canyon's Jacob Lewis set a new PR in the 8k, taking eighth at the Bronco Invitational with a time of 24:24.4 … NM State's Michael Kirwa set a new personal-best in the 8k at the Highlander Invitational, taking seventh with a time of 24:25.61 … Seattle U's Nathan Pixler led the Redhawks at the Bronco Invitational, taking 57th with a time of 25:01.4 … UT Rio Grande Valley's Abraham Chirchir ran the WAC's top 8k time this season at the Arturo Barrios Invitational, taking fourth with a time of 23:41.2.

 

Other Women's Nominees: Grand Canyon's Elizabeth Balsan set a new PR at the Bronco Invitational 6k, finishing eighth with a time of 20:33.1 … NM State's Richelle Sandin led the Aggies with a sixth-place individual finish at the Highlander Invitational, setting a new PR with a time of 21:00.26 … Seattle U's Olivia Stein placed 23rd at the Bronco Invitational with a time of 20:58.3 … UT Rio Grande Valley's Dorcas Koech took 17th at the Arturo Barrios Invitational, setting a new PR in the 6k with a time of 21:04.3 … Utah Valley's Savannah Neuberger led the Wolverines to a team-win at the Bronco Invitational, taking 12th with a time of 20:39.9.

 

Just one meet remains before next month's WAC Championships at Swope Park in Kansas City, Mo. Utah Valley will be the only WAC squad in action this week, taking part in the Utah Open on Friday in Salt Lake City.

 

Three men's teams and four women's teams were listed in the latest USTFCCCA Regional Cross Country Rankings. In the Mountain Region, the Utah Valley men sit at 11th while on the women's side, UVU comes in at 12th. UT Rio Grande Valley also has both programs ranked as the men are ninth and the women are eighth in the South Central Region. In the West Region, the California Baptist men are ranked eighth. The CBU women are now fifth and Grand Canyon moved into the poll at 15th.

 

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.