TicketSmarter WAC Cross Country Athletes of the Week Announced
DENVER – California Baptist's Florian LePallec and Abilene Christian's Irene Rono have been named the TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Men's and Women's Cross Country Athletes of the Week, respectively, for Oct. 12 through 18.
Le Pallec, a senior from Kervignac, France, picked up his second athlete of the week award as he finished 30th in one of the strongest fields of any event this season. Le Pallec traversed the 8K course at the Florida State Invitational/Pre-Nationals Meet in just 23 minutes, 29.1 seconds to record the fastest 8K time in the WAC this year and the fastest 8K time in Lancer history. Le Pallec helped California Baptist finish 14th among a field that included a total of 12 ranked squads.
Rono, a sophomore from Eldama Ravine, Kenya, turned in the best performance of her season on Saturday as she posted a second-place finish at the Arturo Barrios Invitational. Her 6K time of 20:31.1 marks the second-fastest time in the WAC this year and was good enough to earn bronze in an extremely competitive field of 265 runners from 33 different programs.
Other Men's Nominees: Grand Canyon's Jacob Lewis produced a GCU school record last week, posting an 8K time of 24:02.9 to finish third at the Highlander Invitational… Lamar's George Wheeler was the WAC's top finisher at the Arturo Barrios Invitational as he finished just 6.1 seconds off the lead to come in third place… Seattle U's Giuliano Scasso finished 20th in a field of 301 runners at the Lewis & Clark Invite, recording an 8K time of 24:41.3… Tarleton's Kevin Baez came away from the Arturo Barrios Invitational with an 8K time of 24:25.90 to place 37th out of 251 competitors… UT Rio Grande Valley's Abraham Chirchir notched his best 8K time since 2019 as he took 41st at the Arturo Barrios Invitational, finishing with a time of 24:31.3... Utah Valley's Max Mahon helped lead the Utah Valley men to a 19th place finish at the Florida State Invitational/Pre-Nationals Meet in Tallahassee, Fla.
Other Women's Nominees: California Baptist's Greta Karinauskaite took 57th at the Florida State Invitational/Pre-Nationals Meet as she turned in a time of 20:44.8 in the 6K event… Grand Canyon's Hana Hall ran a personal best time of 21:44.8 to place 36th at the Highlander Invitational… Lamar's Yasmin Austridge was 98th in a strong field at the Arturo Barrios Invitational, finishing with a 6K time of 22:24.2… NM State's Emily Stutesman covered the 6K course at the Highlander Invitational in 21:01.9 to come across as the WAC's top finisher in the event… Seattle U's Emily Harris matched the Redhawks' men's top finisher with a 20th-place finish at the Lewis & Clark Invite… Tarleton's Brooke Wendel finished with a time of 22:52.70 on the 6K course at the Arturo Barrios Invitational… UT Rio Grande Valley's Samantha Gonzalez finished in the top half of runners at the Arturo Barrios Invitational, posting a 6K time of 22:28.6… Utah Valley's Caila Odekirk was the Wolverines' top finisher at the Florida State Invitational/Pre-Nationals Meet as she placed 61st with a 6K time of 20:47.4.