PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The American Athletic Conference has announced its final cross country weekly honors in 2017.
Male Athlete of the Week
Brian Barraza * R-Sr. * Houston
Barraza earns his second conference weekly accolade after turning in a 10th place finish out of 279 runners at the 2017 adidas Pre-National Meet in Louisville, Ky. on Saturday, Oct. 14. The senior clocked a time of 23:22.1 in the elite 8K Red Race run at “Tom” Sawyer Park. Barraza and the Cougars ran against a strong field of opponents representing eight nationally ranked teams, including four of the top-10 programs in the country. The race serves as a preview to the 2017 NCAA Cross Country Championships, which will be run at the same course in November. This marked just the second time Barraza competed this season after he captured first place at the Texas A&M Invitational in September.
Female Athlete of the Week
Grace Sullivan * Jr. * ECU
Sullivan paced ECU to a second place finish out of nine teams and captured her home-meet’s individual title with a first place time of 20:37 in the ECU Pirate Invitational 6K race on Friday, Oct. 13. Her time stands as the second-fastest ever run by a Pirate in a 6k meet, as she matched her season-best mark from the Paul Short Run earlier this year.