Cal Poly junior Evan Anderson and UC Irvine junior Laura Olvera were honored as the Big West Men's and Women's Cross Country Athletes of the Week, respectively, after leading their squads to team titles last weekend.

Anderson (Atherton, Calif.) finished ahead of the rest of the field in the men's 8K at the Asics/UC Irvine Invitational. He completed the course in 24:33, topping teammate and second place finisher Leif Anderson by over five seconds.

Olvera (Whittier, Calif.) led the Anteaters to the team championship with a second place finish at the Asics/UC Irvine Invitational. She finished the 5K course in 17:51.5, good for second place and was one of three UCI runners to finish in the top six.

Big West Squads Represented in National, Regional Polls

With the cross country season entering its third weekend, the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association released its first national and regional polls of the 2007 season.

On the men's side, defending league champion Cal Poly claimed the only national ranking among the Big West schools as the Mustangs check in at #23. In the West Region rankings, Cal Poly leads a contingent of conference schools among the 15 spots. The Mustangs lead the pack at the fifth position, while UC Santa Barbara (10), UC Riverside (12), UC Irvine (13) and newcomer UC Davis (14) are also ranked in the region.

The women's national rankings has defending Big West champion UC Santa Barbara as well as UC Riverside among the 13 schools in the receiving votes section. The Gauchos tied Wake Forest for the most points in the group. In the West Region rankings, UCSB (#5), UCR (#6), UC Irvine (#10) and Cal Poly (#11) are all ranked in the first poll.