Hardy, Hackett Named Cross Country Athletes of the Week
Southland Conference
FRISCO, Texas – UIW junior Deion Hardy and Abilene Christian senior Alexandria Hackett were named the Southland Conference Cross Country Athletes of the Week, the league announced Tuesday. Both took top individual finishes at ACU’s Naimadu Classic, leading both of their respective teams to first-place overall.
Southland Athletes of the Week are presented by
UniversalCoin.com.
The Wildcats next head to Minneapolis for the Roy Griak Cross Country Invitational on Sept. 23, hosted by Minnesota. UIW has a week off from competition before heading to the Arkansas Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville on Sept. 30.
Men’s Athlete of the Week: Deion Hardy, UIW – Jr. – Temple, Texas
Hardy finished first overall for the first time in his collegiate career, defeating SFA’s Erick Rotich by two seconds to claim Abilene Christian’s Naimadu Classic individual championship. He took the top spot out of 32 competitors with an 8K time of 25:27.8, pacing the Cardinals to a first-place team finish.
Honorable Mention: Adam Cortez, Southeastern Louisiana; Erik Rotich, Stephen F. Austin; Brandon Lewis-Graham, Northwestern State.
Women’s Athlete of the Week: Alexandria Hackett, Abilene Christian – Sr. – Cranston, R.I.
Hackett took a convincing first-place individual finish at the Naimadu Classic, finishing nearly 10 seconds ahead of her twin sister, Michaela, who finished in second place. Alexandria posted a 6K time of 21:15.32 to lead the Wildcat women to a first-place overall team finish.
Honorable Mention: Brittany Innis, Stephen F. Austin; Tara Stuntz, Southeastern Louisiana; Emily Wilson, UIW.
Southland weekly award winners are nominated and voted upon by each school’s sports information director. Voting for one’s own athletes is not permitted. To earn honorable mention, a student-athlete must appear on 25 percent of ballots.