COLORADO SPRINGS -- Following outstanding performances over the weekend at the UC Riverside Invitational, BYU runners Miles Batty and Cecily Lemmon-Lew garnered the Mountain West Conference Cross Country Male and Female Athlete of the Week honors.
Batty, a sophomore from Sandy, Utah, earned his second MWC weekly honor of the 2009 season after coming in first place in a field of 343 runners with a course record-breaking time of 23:41, the best 8K time thus far in the league.
"For Miles to come out on top in a field of 350 runners and set a new course record doing so shows the quality of an athlete that he is,” said BYU men’s cross country head coach Ed Eyestone. “He displayed smart running during the race and ended it well with a sprint to the finish line."
The individual victory was Batty’s second of the year, helping the Cougars to a second consecutive first-place finish.
"The race was similar to the BYU Autumn Classic a few weeks ago,” Batty said. “I just tried to stay with the pack and wait for everyone to fall off a bit before I took off. There was one other guy close by, but I was able to give a little kick to move ahead. I just relaxed and waited for the right moment, and it worked out for me."
Lemmon-Lew, a junior from Vacaville, Calif., came in second place overall in a field of 217 runners, also breaking a course record with a time of 16:32. The mark is the best MWC 5K time so far in the 2009 season, pacing her team to a second-place finish out of 30 participating schools.
“It was a good opener for me and I was happy with the result,” Lew said. “It was a great experience traveling with the team and competing on a fun course. My finish was better than I expected.”
She is the first BYU female runner to win the award this season. Colorado State’s Ellie Rastall won the first weekly honor.
"Cecily has been training very hard and even had a little cold before the race, so we wanted her to not run so hard,” said BYU women’s cross country coach Patrick Shane. “The girl from Azusa Pacific had other plans, so Cecily had to try to run her down and almost made it. This was a good opportunity for her to test herself. I'm pleased with how she responded to pressure, and I'm excited for her."