Academy of Art University Athletics

At the 2016 Pacific West Conference Cross Country Championships on Oct. 22, graduate student Joshua Thorson led the way as he has done all year for the Urban Knights. The Industrial Design major would weather challenging conditions and come away as the PacWest Conference individual champion.

Separating with the front pack following the first loop, a mud-covered Thorson would go head-to-head with No. 17 California Baptist's Valentin Robert, defeating his opponent by more than 18 seconds with a time of 26:51 for the title.

"The team ran really tough and executed our plan almost perfectly," said Thorson. "It was awesome to finish and know I did the best I could for the team, scoring one point and setting us up for success. The conditions were very slow and technical; you had to keep your feet under you and focus on running efficient, but it made for a memorable race."