FRISCO, Texas - Lamar junior Freddie Gasbarri and Central Arkansas senior Brigette Caruthers were named as Southland Conference Cross Country Athletes of the Week, presented by UniversalCoin.com, the league announced Tuesday.
Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Week - Freddie Gasbarri, Lamar
Gasbarri smashed his previous best 8K mark with a 24:25.1, third-place finish at the Bradley Invitational, a meet that featured 27 teams from around the country. He led the Cardinals to a third-place finish, behind only Saint Louis and University of Windsor, and in front of Notre Dame's A-team. Gasbarri was only 1.8 seconds away from sharing the race title with Corey Bellemore of the Windsor. Lamar will defend its title and vie for a 10
th Southland Conference Championship in 11 seasons on October 28.
Honorable Mention: Markus Schweikert, Central Arkansas
Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Week - Brigette Caruthers, Central Arkansas
Caruthers comfortably took a first-place individual finish at the Little Rock Invitational by 29.7 seconds, with a finishing 5K time of 18:13.7, earning her second Athlete of the Week honor for the 2016 season. The senior paced a strong 1-5-6 finishing order for the Sugar Bears, good for a second-place team finish out of seven competing schools. This capped the regular season competition, and Central Arkansas will next take to the course on October 28 in Nacogdoches for the Southland Conference Championship.
Honorable Mention: Jannika John, Lamar, Clarissa Smith, Southeastern La.
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.