UC Santa Barbara's Mike Chavez and Lauren Christman have been named the Big West Athletes of the Week for their efforts on the national stage last week.

Chavez, a senior from Anaheim, CA, led the men's contingent of Gaucho runners at Pre-Nationals with a time of 24:01 on the 8K course. His time placed him 15th among 243 runners and led UCSB to fourth place finish among the 36 teams in competition.

Christman, a senior from Santa Cruz, CA, led the Gauchos to a fourth place finish after completing the 6K course in 20:28. Her time was ninth among the 253 competitors and led the UCSB women’s squad to its best-ever finish at the Pre-Nationals meet.

Final Tune-ups for Big West Squads this Weekend Before Conference Championships

Cal State Fullerton will host its annual Titan Invitational this weekend, the last meet on the schedule before the conference championships. League rivals Cal State Northridge, UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara will race among others in the women’s 5K race and the men’s 8K run.

After this weekend’s final competition, seven Big West squads will head to San Luis Obispo to join Cal Poly for the Big West Cross Country Championships. The race will be held at the Fairbanks Cross Country Course and will be a 6K race for the women and 8K competition for the men.

Both races promise to be tight affairs as numerous clubs have done well on the national stage. On the women’s side, preseason favorite UC Santa Barbara, the 7th-ranked team in the country, looks to live up to that preseason praise and take home the title. Defending champion and regionally ranked UC Irvine looks to spoil that bid as does fellow regionally ranked club UC Riverside.

The men’s race will feature two clubs ranked in the latest NCAA poll. #13 UC Santa Barbara and #24 Cal Poly look to continue their recent momentum to the Big West crown, but regionally ranked foes UC Irvine, UC Riverside and Long Beach State are poised for a run at the title.