PacWest Release
Phoenix, AZ -- Following another 1st place finish at the 2011 Bronco Invitational this past Saturday, senior
Amos Maru has been named Pacific West Conference Men's Cross Country Runner of the Week. And, with consistent contributions to help Academy of Art to 2nd place as a team, four of Maru's teammates were selected for the PacWest Weekly Top 10 Honor Roll including seniors
Daveson Marindich and
Simon Mutai as well as freshmen
Jack Nevins and
Chris Gutierrez. The honors were announced by the PacWest Media Office in Phoenix, AZ, on Tuesday, Oct. 18 for races contested on Oct. 15.
Out to an early lead on the 8k course around Baylands Park in Sunnyvale, CA, Maru ran an inspired race. He was challenged by runners from LA Trade Technical Institute, but still persevered through to the end and earned 1st among runners from four-year institutions. His time of 24:51 was his second lowest of the season as he has progressively lowered his marks with the approach of the conference championships. This is the second PacWest Runner of the Week honor for Maru this season and the seventh in his ART U career.
“Right now, we're in a good pace as a team and it was important to run this race well,” Maru said following the meet. “I felt good through the first three miles, but in the fourth I was challenged a little bit psychologically. I really tried to come back strong towards the end and the course was nice because the rolling hills helped mentally. I am excited to see that we are coming together as a team and we are looking forward to conference.”
In classic ART U fashion, Marindich was practically alongside his teammate Maru for the early portion of the 8k race. The Eldoret, Kenya native would also post his second lowest time of the season (25:19.5) and collect 2nd place honors. As the leading tandem throughout the competition, Marindich and Maru would beat out the top runners from University of San Francisco, host Santa Clara, and even the first place team of Johns Hopkins.
Following up his solid outing at SF State one week prior, Mutai went above and beyond at the Bronco Invite. The Nakuru, Kenya native logged a career best with his time of 26:03.8 on Saturday. At the UW Sundodger Invite earlier this year, Mutai had a new career record, but this time around, he reduced that mark by six tenths of a second to earn 10th, his highest finish in four 2011 meets. Mutai legged out the final path to the finish line, surpassing one of the runners from John Hopkins with the run.
As the fourth ART U finisher, Nevins was fighting to overtake runners from San Jose State and Santa Clara throughout the 8k course. His final time of 26:03.8 was good for a 25th place finish, putting Nevins four seconds ahead of a Spartan and Bronco he had been competing against. The Sacramento, CA native's mark was his also his second lowest of the season and the 25th placement was his highest yet in 2011.
With an equally important run as his four teammates, Gutierrez crossed the finish line in 55th place with a time of 28:11.1. This was the second lowest time for the Houston, TX native this season and provided a critical contribution to the team's 2nd place finish. The freshman would come through ahead of a wave of runners from Pepperdine, Santa Clara, and Notre Dame de Namur.
Marindich claims third PacWest Weekly Top 10 honor this year and the 13th in his career, Mutai picks up his second of 2011 and the fifth of his career. For the first-year Urban Knights, Nevins earns his second PacWest Weekly honor while Gutierrez takes home his first.
