SAN JOSE, Calif. – San Jose State sophomore distance runner Luis Chavez has been named the Mountain West Male Cross Country Athlete of the Week, as announced by the league office on Tuesday.
Chavez led the Spartan men in the 8k at the Capital Cross Challenge in Sacramento over the weekend with a personal-best time of 24:15.2 to finish fifth overall. It's the first time Chavez has been the Spartans' top finisher of his career.
"It is a great honor for Luis to receive this recognition for his race this past weekend," head cross country coach Brad Wick said. "He has been working hard since he arrived on campus just over a year ago and it is great to see that hard work start to take shape. He put together a perfectly executed race on Saturday and the results show."
The native of Mission Viejo, California, beat his previous personal-best time by over a minute with the breakout run. It's his second top-five finish of the season after placing third at the USF Cross Country Invitational in the season-opener.
Chavez and the Spartans return to action on Saturday, October 19, at the Santa Clara Invitational in Sunnyvale.