Cross Country Athletes of the Week
Oct. 16, 2007
Irving, Texas - UTEP's Stephen Samoei has been named Conference USA's Male Athlete of the Week. The two-time All-American ran a 8K time of 23:29 for eighth place, while the Miners defeated defending national champions Colorado to win the white race at the Pre-National meet in Terre Haute, Ind. The meet which featured 26 of the top 30 teams in the nation, was held at the LaVern Gibson course, home to the 2007 NCAA championship meet. That victory catapulted the Miners to a No. 3 ranking in this week's United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Poll, the highest ranking in UTEP men's cross country history. The Miners also sport a No. 2 Mountain Region ranking. The league office also named SMU's Silje Fjortoft and Tulsa's Alex Becker as Co-Female Athletes of the Week for their solid performances at their respective meets. Fjortoft clocked a time of 20:52 for a fourth-place finish at the prestigious Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Ark. Becker cross the finish line in a 6K personal-best time of 20:27 at the Pre-Nationals Meet in Terre Haute, Ind., where she finished seventh. Becker bettered her time by more than 30 seconds. Both runners currently have their teams ranked among their respective region's top 15. Tulsa is ranked seventh in the Midwest Region, while SMU is eighth in the South Central Region. Also ranked in the South Central Region is No. 7 Tulane and No. 2 Rice, who's also ranked 16th in the national poll. UAB appears at No. 7 in the South Region, followed by UTEP at No. 15 in the Mountain. The Tulsa men also worked their way up the charts appearing at No. 17 in the USTFCCA national poll. The week prior, the Golden Hurricane was only receiving votes for the top 30. TU follows Oklahoma State at No. 2 in the Midwest Region, while Rice is No. 7 in the South Central poll and UCF is 15th in the South. CONFERENCE USA CROSS COUNTRY NOTEBOOK - OCT. 16
CONFERENCE USA CROSS COUNTRY ATHLETES OF THE WEEK MALE Stephen Samoei, UTEP Senior, Eldoret, Kenya (Nakuru) Samoei had a strong performance among a field of nationally ranked teams at the Pre-Nationals Meet in Terre Haute, Ind. The two-time All-American ran an 10K time of 23:29 for eighth place. Samoei time this past weekend was his second-best mark of the season as he missed his personal-best time by tenths of seconds. The field featured 26 of the top 30 teams in the nation. Samoei has finished in the top seven at every meet he has competed in this season and took the individual title at the Lobo Invitational in September. The meet was held at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course at the Wabash Valley Sports Center, which will also be the site of the 2007 NCAA Cross Country Championships. CO-FEMALES Becker clocked a 6K personal-best time of 20:27 at the Pre-Nationals Meet in Terre Haute, Ind., Saturday. She finished seventh, after bettering her time by more than 30 seconds. The Ontario, Canada, native led the race at the one mile mark. The meet was held at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course at the Wabash Valley Sports Center, which will also be the site of the 2007 NCAA Cross Country Championships. 2007 C-USA CROSS COUNTRY ATHLETES OF THE WEEK September 11 September 18 September 25 October 2 October 9 October 16 |
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