IRVINE, Calif. – Sophomore
Juan Chantaca has been named the Big West Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Week for the second time this season, and third time in his career, the conference office announced Tuesday afternoon.
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Chantaca ran an 8K school-record 23:38.4 at the UC Riverside Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 27. The San Clemente native improved his PR by 13 seconds and beat UC Irvine's previous standard of 23:47.0, which was set in 2006 and later matched in 2022.
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Chantaca was the top UCI and Big West finisher, coming in fourth in a field of 224 athletes. It was his second-straight top-five showing. Chantaca also had an individual victory at the season-opening Vanguard Invitational (24:05.8) to earn his first Big West weekly award of the year.
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The Anteaters will be back in action at the Bill Dellinger Invitational on Friday, Oct. 10.
