TicketSmarter WAC Cross Country Athletes of the Week Announced
DENVER – California Baptist's Ivo Balabanov and Anna Mate have been named the TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Men's and Women's Cross Country Athletes of the Week, respectively, for January 18 through January 24.
Balabanov, a senior from Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria, paced CBU in his cross country debut, taking second place overall at the Dixie State Invite to help the Lancers earn a third-place team finish. He covered the 8k course in a school-record 23:45.3 to finish less than five seconds out of the lead. As a team, the Lancers finished behind Utah State and 16th-ranked Southern Utah and ahead of fellow WAC members Utah Valley and host Dixie State.
Mate, a junior from Kaposvár, Hungary, placed third at the Dixie State Invite to lead the 30th-ranked Lancers to a second-place team finish. The two-time All-WAC harrier covered the 6k course in 20:43.7 as CBU finished behind just Utah State in the team standings.
Other Men's Nominees: Dixie State's Kevin Kirk finished 37th at the Dixie State Invitational to lead the Trailblazer men in their first D1 race … Utah Valley's Britain Reynolds placed 15th with a time of 24:25.6 in the 8k at the Dixie State Invitational to lead Utah Valley to a fourth-place team finish.
Other Women's Nominees: Dixie State's Madison Flippence led the Trailblazers in their first D1 race, taking 26th place with a time of 22:03.3 … Utah Valley's Maddie Bench Empey finished fifth individually in the 6k at the Dixie State Invite with a time of 20:48.3 to help the Wolverines earn a third-place team finish.