Sept. 28, 2010
AUBURN, Ala. --Auburn cross country runners Ben Cheruiyot and Holly Knight were named SEC Croos Country Athletes of the Week after their strong performances at the Brooks Memphis Twilight Cross Country Classic this past Saturday.
"They both had very good performances over the weekend," head coach Mark Carroll said. "The honor is nice to get and now we'll move on to get ready for the next race."
Cheruiyot clocked a time of 23:15.96 to come away with his first 8K win of the season, beating a field of 246 runners.
"For Ben it was a battle between he and the runner from Eastern Kentucky, and it's great that he got the win for his confidence," Carroll said.
Cheruiyot pulled away down the stretch to finish the race with his fastest time of the season.
Knight's 17:05.97 5K performance was her second win of the season. She led from start to finish, and completed the race 24 seconds better than the next finisher in a race field of 256 runners.
"Holly had a great race," Carroll said. "The plan is for her to build on her back-to-back wins, and it's a great confidence booster for her as well."
Cheruiyot and Knight return to the course Oct. 16 at the Chili Pepper Cross Country Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark.