Rotich named USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week.

NEW ORLEANS – Nicodemus Rotich etched his name into the history book once again Tuesday, earning National Cross Country Athlete of the Week honors from the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Eldoret, Kenya, became the first Lion to win an individual Lone Star Conference cross country title since 1986 and fourth overall in program history on Saturday. Rotich won the 8-kilometer race in 24:51.0 to finish 13.51 seconds ahead of West Texas A&M’s Innocent Murwanashyaka.

His win at the LSC Championships gives Rotich a clean sweep of the 2020 season, winning all four meets he has competed in this season. He was named LSC Freshman of the Year and First Team All-LSC earlier Tuesday.

It is the first time in award history an athlete from A&M-Commerce has been named National Athlete of the Week during the cross country season.

Rotich and Townsend earn special honors from Lone Star Conference.

RICHARDSON – Texas A&M University-Commerce’s Nicodemus Rotich and Tanner Townsend earned recognition from the Lone Star Conference on Tuesday, as the league announced all-conference, academic all-conference, and special awards in men’s cross country. 

Rotich (Eldoret, Kenya) was named the LSC Freshman of the Year and First Team All-Lone Star Conference after winning the conference championship by almost 14 seconds with a 24:51.0 8-kilometer course. Rotich won the individual title in all four races the Lions ran this year, and both LSC Runner and Freshman of the Week in every week they gave awards this year. 

Rotich is the Lions’ fourth all-time LSC Champion, second LSC Freshman of the Year, and 27th First Team All-LSC honoree. The Lions last had a First Team All-LSC honoree in 2016. 

Townsend (Royse City) earned Academic All-Conference in his first season eligible. The Kinesiology and Sports Studies major helped push the Lions to a fifth-place finish in the LSC Championships team. He is the first Lion to earn Academic All-Conference since 2017. 

They give the all-conference distinction to runners who finish among the top 15 individually at the conference meet. They present additional awards for Newcomer, Freshman, and Coach of the Year on both the men’s and women’s sides. They give the Coach of the Year award to one head coach for each gender based on a vote of the league’s cross country head coaches. 

For student-athletes to be eligible for the All-Academic team, they must maintain a 3.30 cumulative grade point average. The league’s sports information directors vote on the All-Academic teams.

MEN’S ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM

Place	Runner	Team	Year	Hometown
1	Nicodemus Rotich	A&M-Commerce	Fr.	Eldoret, Kenya
2	Innocent Murwanashyaka	West Texas A&M	Jr.	St. Paul, Minn.
3	Butare Rugenerwa	West Texas A&M	Jr.	Amarillo, Texas
4	Arnaud Taki	West Texas A&M	Sr.	Lyon, France
5	Colten Brown	Oklahoma Christian	So.	Boise City, Okla.
6	Daniel Beam	Western New Mexico	So.	Rio Rancho, N.M.
7	Colton Meyers	Oklahoma Christian	Sr.	Allen, Texas
8	Michael Anzures	Western New Mexico	Sr.	Seboyeta, N.M.
9	Harry Louradour	West Texas A&M	Fr.	Le Vigen, France
10	Eduardo Gutierrez	Cameron	Sr.	Hondo, Texas
11	Nicholas Martinez	Texas A&M International	Jr.	Laredo, Texas
12	Angel Contreras	UT Tyler	Fr.	El Paso, Texas
13	Briggs Wittlake	West Texas A&M	Sr.	Amarillo, Texas
14	Noah Metzger	DBU	Sr.	McKinney, Texas
15	Gideon Kipon	Texas A&M International	Fr.	Eldama Ravine, Kenya

SPECIAL RECOGNITION
Men’s Team Champion: West Texas A&M
Men’s Newcomer of the Year: Innocent Murwanashyaka, West Texas A&M
Men’s Freshman of the Year: Nicodemus Rotich, A&M-Commerce
Men’s Coach of the Year: Jake Krolick, West Texas A&M

WOMEN’S ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM

Place	Runner	Team	Year	Hometown
1	Florance Uwajeneza	West Texas A&M	Jr.	St. Paul, Minn.
2	Madison Brown	DBU	So.	Round Rock, Texas
3	Marissa Insinna	DBU	Jr.	McKinney, Texas
4	Abril Escamilla	Texas A&M International	Sr.	Laredo, Texas
5	Leslie Filorio	DBU	Jr.	Abilene, Texas
6	Emily Mackel	DBU	So.	Waxahachie, Texas
7	Kenya Bailey	Oklahoma Christian	Jr.	Ponca City, Okla.
8	Amerhyst Woolf	Midwestern State	Sr.	Las Cruces, N.M.
9	Jenna Thorman	DBU	Sr.	Plano, Texas
10	Faith Kiprotich	Texas A&M International	So.	Kapkoi, Kenya
11	Analynne Klotz	DBU	Jr.	Cadillac, Mich.
12	Britney Lovato	Western New Mexico	Jr.	Rio Rancho, N.M.
13	Kaitlyn Stark	St. Edward’s	Sr.	Rockwall, Texas
14	Karla Resendez	Texas A&M International	Sr.	Laredo, Texas
15	Martha Brown	DBU	Jr.	Plano, Texas

SPECIAL RECOGNITION
Women’s Team Champion: DBU
Women’s Newcomer of the Year: Florance Uwajeneza, West Texas A&M
Women’s Freshman of the Year: Ellie Hovre, St. Edward’s
Women’s Coach of the Year: Jacob Phillips, DBU

2020 MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY ACADEMIC ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM

Runner	Team	Year	Major	Hometown
Fernando Villalon	Lubbock Christian	So.	Exercise Science	Antequera, Spain
Tanner Townsend	A&M-Commerce	So.	Kinesiology and Sports Studies	Royse City, Texas
Zach Tucker	UT Tyler	Sr.	Chemistry and Biochemistry	Perrin, Texas
Daniel Beam	Western New Mexico	So.	History	Rio Rancho, N.M.
Michael Anzures	Western New Mexico	Sr.	Kinesiology	Seboyeta, N.M.

SPECIAL RECOGNITION
Academic Runner of the Year: Zach Tucker, UT Tyler

2020 WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY ACADEMIC ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM

Runner	Team	Year	Major	Hometown
Leslie Filorio	DBU	Jr.	Political Science	Abilene, Texas
Madison Brown	DBU	So.	Biology	Round Rock, Texas
Rylee Cristan	DBU	Jr.	Education	Keller, Texas
Maddie Hooker	West Texas A&M	So.	Plant, Soil, and Environmental Science	Yantis, Texas
Brenda Prieto	Western New Mexico	So.	Cell and Molecular Biology	Las Cruces, N.M.

SPECIAL RECOGNITION
Academic Runner of the Year: Leslie Filorio, DBU