United Athletic Conference

UT Rio Grande Valley's Abraham Chirchir and Grand Canyon's Elizabeth Balsan have been named the Western Athletic Conference Men's and Women's Cross Country Athletes of the Week, respectively, for August 26 through September 1.

 

Chirchir, a sophomore from Iten, Kenya, set a PR and ran the fourth-fastest 6K in program history, winning the UIW Opener with a time of 18:17.9. As a team, UTRGV finished second out of seven teams in the season-opening meet.

 

Balsan, a senior from Anchorage, Alaska, finished first among 31 runners at the Cactus Open against runners from Arizona and Arizona State. She covered the new 2.7-mile course in 15:57.3 to set the course record as she led Grand Canyon to a second-place team finish.

 

Other Men's Nominees: California Baptist's Arturs Medveds led the Lancers at the Mark Covert Classic, finishing the 8K course in 25:47.8 … Grand Canyon's Jacob Lewis took fourth at the Cactus Open with a time of 19:03.3 over 3.7-miles … Kansas City's Max Selbach ran a 19:23.7 6K to lead the Roos at the Bob Timmons Classic … NM State's Michael Kirwa was the top Aggie finisher at the Lobo Invitational, covering the 5K course in 15:58.30 … Seattle U's Nathan Pixler ran well in a dual against third-ranked Washington, covering a four-mile course in 20:55 … Utah Valley's Hawk Call led the UVU to victory at the Vivint UVU Invitational, running a 15:38.2 5K for his first collegiate victory.

 

Other Women's Nominees: California Baptist's Anna Mate led the Lancers a the season-opening Mark Covert Classic, taking 10th in the 5K with a time of 18:23.9 … Kansas City's Sommer Herner ran a 19:05.3 5K to lead the Roos at the Bob Timmons Classic … Seattle U's Olivia Stein finished ninth out of 21 runners in a dual against third-ranked Washington, running a 17:48 over the three-mile course … UT Rio Grande Valley's Dorcas Koech won the UIW Opener with a time of 14:51.0 in the 4K race … Utah Valley's Maddie Bench Empey led the Wolverines at their own Vivint UVU Invitational, finishing fifth in the 5K with a time of 18:50.9.

 

After a busy opening weekend, it will be a light second week across the WAC. In the only meet of the week, Chicago State becomes the final WAC school to open the 2019 season at the NIU Huskie Invitational.

 

Three men's teams and three women's teams were listed in the USTFCCCA Regional Cross Country Preseason Rankings. In the Mountain Region, both the Utah Valley men and women are ranked 14th to open the season. UT Rio Grande Valley also has both programs ranked, with the men coming in at sixth in the South Central Region and the women comeing in at eighth. California Baptist is represented in both West Region rankings with the men ranked 15th and the women ranked eighth.

 

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 straigh 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.