Seattle University cross country’s Lila Rice (Redmond, Wash.) has been named the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Female Cross Country Runner of the Week for the week of Sept. 14-20, 2015, the league office announced Tuesday morning. This is the first time this season a cross country runner from Seattle University has won the honor.
"Lila came into the season fit and focused," head coach Trisha Steidl said. "She is racing well and I expect she'll continue to build upon this as the season progresses."
At Sundodger on Saturday, Rice finished 6th overall with a time of 22:00.88, helping the women’s team finish 6th overall with an average time of 22:26.89. For the second meet in a row, the junior was the first Redhawk to cross the finish line.
After the race, Steidl said Rice “looked solid and in control” in what was really the first full-length race of the season for both men’s and women’s teams.
Grand Canyon’s Samuel Proctor was named the WAC Cross Country Runner of the Week for men after finishing 4th in the Mustang Challenge with a time of 25:22.93, beating his personal record in the event by nearly three minutes.
Seattle U stays close to home for their next meet on Oct. 2 as they compete in the Washington Invitational to help continue determining who the top runners will be this season. This meet is expected to be one of the most competitive of the season.
Other Men’s Nominees: Chay Weaver (Seattle U)
Other Women’s Nominees: Angel Valdez (Bakersfield), Kelsi Klotter (Grand Canyon)