Oct. 23, 2007

IRVING, Texas - Southern Miss wins its first Conference USA Female Athlete of the Week honor. Freshman Zuna Portillo was the team's top finisher at the Coach O Invitational, clocking a two-mile time of 11:26.66.

OCT. 23: C-USA CROSS COUNTRY NOTEBOOK

OCT. 23: C-USA CROSS COUNTRY FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

ZUNA PORTILLO, SOUTHERN MISS
Fr., Anticoch, Calif. (Pittsburg)
Freshman Zuna Portillo was the top finisher for Southern Miss at the Coach O Invitational. Portillo clocked a two-mile time of 11:26.66 for a third-place finish among 76 runners. As a team, Southern Miss finished third in a field of 11 teams.

Other Standout Performances
UAB - Sophomore Alina Varpiotaite crossed the finish line in a personal-best two-mile time of 12:00.21 for 14th place at the Coach "O" Invitational Cross Country Meet in Troy, Ala. This was her first cross country meet at UAB. She is normally a middle-distance runner on the track and field team.

2007 C-USA CROSS COUNTRY ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
September 5
Male - Eric Harris, Tulsa
Female - Elizabeth Ambrus, UAB

September 11
Male - Stephen Samoei, UTEP
Female - Aubrey Phillips, Tulane

September 18
Male - Patrick Mutai, UTEP
Female - Alex Becker, Tulsa

September 25
Male - Stephen Magness, Houston
Female - Marissa Daniels, Rice

October 2
Male - Edwin Henshaw, Tulsa
Female - Marissa Daniels, Rice

October 9
Male - Miles Harris, UCF
Female - Kelly Young, UTEP

October 16
Male - Stephen Samoei
Female - Alex Becker, Tulsa & Silje Fjortoft, SMU

October 23
Male - no available athlete
Female - Zuna Portillo, Southern Miss