FRISCO, Texas – Stephen F. Austin University’s Saad Rifi Loutfi and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi’s Elizabeth Khatevi garnered the Southland Conference Cross Country Men’s and Women’s Performers of the Week, as announced by the league office on Wednesday.

Men’s Performer of the Week: Saad Rifi Loutfi, Stephen F. Austin – Jr. – Fes, Morocco (Iowa Central CC)
Rifi Loutfi led the Lumberjacks to an incredible fourth-place finish at a stacked Cowboy Jamboree and defeated fifth-ranked Oregon, 21^st-ranked Tulsa, and TCU. He finished 21st in the 8k with a time of 24:24.4. The junior played a crucial role in the Lumberjacks earning the No. 2 ranking in the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) South Central Region Poll, which is the highest in school history.
Honorable mention: Christian Castro-Cruz, UIW
 
Women’s Performer of the Week: Elizabeth Khatevi, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi – Jr. –
Eldoret, Kenya
In her first time in action during the 2026 season, Khatevi picked up right where she left off from her historic 2025 campaign at the Gans Creek Classic in Columbia, Missouri. Racing in a stacked field of 251 athletes from some of the best teams in the country in the 6K Gold Invitational, she took home the silver medal, finishing second with a time of 19:03.6 that ranked behind only Arkansas’s Isca Chelangat mark of 18:58.4. This is the second-best 6K time of her illustrious career so far.
Honorable mention: Uxue Castro-Martin, McNeese State


 

Date	Men's	Women's
Sept. 9	Lathan Lewter, SFA	Carolina Yegon, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Sept. 16	Saad Rifi Loutfi, SFA	Ariadna Navarro, HCU
Sept. 23	Greg Martin, McNeese	Uxue Castro-Martin, McNeese
Sept. 30	Saad Rifi Loutfi, SFA	Elizabeth Khatevi, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi