Cal Poly Pomona's Huizar and Cal State San Marcos' Rodriguez Named CCAA Runners of the Week
San Ramon – Cal Poly Pomona's Mark Huizar and Cal State San Marcos' Natalie Rodriguez earned the first California Collegiate Athletic Association Cross Country Runner of the Week honors of the season after winning their respective races at the CPP/CCAA Preview meet at Cucamonga-Guasti Regional Park Saturday morning.
Men's Cross Country Runner of the Week
Huizar, a 2015 NCAA Division II All-American, picked up right where he left off last season, leading the Broncos to a first-plact team finish and snagging his first meet victory of the season.
The victory did not come easily to the senior from La Puenta as he sprinted past the finish line to defeat Cal State San Marcos' Vahagn Isayan by just one-tenth of a second. Huizar finished the six-kilometer race with a time of 18:37.3.
Others Nominated:
Chris Lessard, Cal State East Bay
Brendan Gee, UC San Diego
Women's Cross Country Runner of the Week
Rodriguez, a junior from Santa Clarita, finished the women's four-kilometer race with a program-record time of 14:11.5, braking the previous CSUSM record by 31.5 seconds.
She, along with teammate Raelyn Werley, led the Cougars to a second place team finish.
Others Nominated:
Laura Aceves, Cal State San Bernardino
Karina Carstens, UC San Diego
Analicia Garcia, Sonoma State
Thalia Silva, Stanislaus