After top-five performances at the season-opening UW/SU Open at Magnuson Park last Friday afternoon, junior Gus Arroyo (Portland, Ore.) and sophomore Lila Rice (Redmond, Wash.) have been named the Western Athletic Conference Male and Female Cross Country Athletes of the Week, announced Tuesday by the league office.
Arroyo was close to the lead pack throughout the 4.5-mile race, eventually crossing the finish line in fifth place with a time of 22:19.10. Arroyo has shown significant improvement throughout his time at Seattle U, cutting over 1:45 off his time in this exact event from two years ago. He has also contributed to the track and field team’s success, especially last season when he finished eighth in the 5000 meter run at the WAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships last May.
Rice, the 2013 WAC Cross Country Freshman of the Year, also stayed close to the leaders in her race, finishing the three-mile loop in 16:58.76, just five seconds behind the race winner. She cut over a minute off her mark from last season. Rice is a two-time Second Team All-WAC honoree, finishing 12th at the 2013 WAC Cross Country Championships and sixth in the 1500 meter run at the 2014 WAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
“Lila and Gus both executed the race plan perfectly and it paid off. They are both fit and focused coming into the season and I’m looking forward to seeing them build upon this solid start,” Seattle U head cross country coach Trisha Steidl said.
This is the first time Seattle U has earned a conference weekly award in cross country since the 2012 season, when Erik Barkhaus received WAC Male Runner of the Week honors Oct. 2, 2012, and Amy Tolentino earned WAC Female Runner of the Week recognition Oct. 23, 2012.
The Seattle University cross country team will next compete at the Sundodger Invitational, hosted by the University of Washington at Lincoln Park in West Seattle. The women’s six-kilometer invitational race is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m., followed by the men’s eight-kilometer invitational event at 11:35 a.m.