Lamar juniors Matt Johnsen and Alex De La Garza and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi junior BreAnna Briggs were named the Southland Conference Cross Country Men’s and Women’s Athletes of the Week, to begin the 2012 season, the league announced Tuesday.

Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week – Alex De La Garza and Matt Johnsen – Lamar
The team of Alex DeLaGarza and Matt Johnsen opened up the 2012 season with a strong showing against Sam Houston State and Stephen F. Austin, winning the Cardinal Relays by 1:25 over Zach Goodlander and Logan Terry of SHSU.

Honorable Mention:  David Batchelder, Oral Roberts; Ryan Saam/Karl Schreiber, Sam Houston State; Paul Hansel, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week – BreAnna Briggs – Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Senior BreAnna Briggs teamed up with sophomore Jasmine Boutte on Friday at the Rio Grande Valley Classic. Briggs led the women with the quickest time and helped seal the top spot with Boutte with an eight-mile time of 44:30.

Honorable Mention: Samantha Watson, Oral Roberts; Nicole Aponte/Alyssa Dooley, Sam Houston State

Each school’s sports information director nominates and votes for the players of the week, though is not permitted to vote for his or her own player. To receive honorable mention, a player must receive votes from 25 percent of the Southland sports information directors.