ARLINGTON, Texas — Utah Valley University's Morgan Nokes and California Baptist's Rikus Van Niekerk were named the TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Cross Country Athletes of the Week, for the week ending Saturday, Sept. 2, the league office announced on Wednesday. 

The Utah State transfer, Nokes (Jr.), won her first meet as a Wolverine in the UVU Invitational. Nokes took first prize over 83 other competitors with a 5K time of 16:24.0. The UVU women's team placed first, occupying five of the top six overall spots in the meet. Nokes and the rest of the squad will be back in action on Saturday, Sept. 16 at the UCR Invitational. 

Van Niekerk (Jr.) ran to his first collegiate win in the Mark Covert Classic held by Cal State Fullerton. His 8K time of 24:11.8 allowed him to place first overall out of 137 finishers in the field. Van Niekerk's stellar performance helped CBU place first in the meet and contributed to a CBU podium sweep.