In their return to competition following a few weeks off, UC Riverside's Chad Hall and UC Irvine's Laura Olvera earned the Big West Men’s and Women’s Athlete of the Week honors, respectively, after stellar races against quality competition.

Hall, a redshirt freshman from Big Bear, Calif., won the 8K competition at the UCR Cross Country Invitational in dominating fashion. He finished the race in 24:13.2, outdistancing the second place finisher by 18 seconds in his first official collegiate race.

Hall's efforts led the UCR men’s contingent to the men’s team title, a crown they won by 78 points over second place.
   
Olvera, a senior from Whittier, Calif., won the individual crown at the Stanford Invitational, her second consecutive individual championship this season.
   
Olvera finished the race in 20:42, defeating the runner-up by eight seconds on the way to the second collegiate individual title in her career.