ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— A day after being named the Division I Women’s National Athlete of the Week by the USTFCCCA, University of New Mexico sophomore Weini Kelati was named the Mountain West Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week.
It is the second-straight week that Kelati has been named the athlete of the week, after being named on Oct. 2, which was the last time the conference announced an athlete of the week.
The sophomore earned the honor after winning the individual title at the Wisconsin Pre-Nationals over the weekend, finishing the 6K race in 19:33.3, 12.5 seconds ahead of the next competitor.
Kelati ran in the lead pack from the start, running with Kurgat and Kansas’ Sharon Lokedi at the two-kilometer point of the race. With just two-kilometers remaining, Kelati held a .2 second lead over Kurgat, and from there, Kelati pulled away from Kurgat and finished the remaining portion of the race in just 6:18.8 to take the title. Kelati also improved her time from the last time she stepped foot on the Zimmer Cross Country Championship Course two weeks prior by over two seconds.
Between the two women’s seeded races, Kelati produced the fastest time amongst all runners.
The Lobos return to the course this Saturday at the Triton Classic Cross Country Invitational in La Jolla, Calif., which will be the final race before UNM races in the Mountain West Championships on Friday, Oct. 26.