FRISCO, Texas – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi cross country program completed a sweep of the weekly conference awards on Wednesday afternoon, as it was announced by the league office that senior
Mathayo Bundotich and junior
Elizabeth Khatevi were named the Southland Conference Men's and Women's Performers of the Week for the voting period of October 14-20.
Bundotich, from Nakuru, Kenya, led the Islanders at the stacked Arturo Barrios Invitational in College Station, placing 32
nd overall out of 380 total competitors in the 8K with a personal-best time of 23:48.6. This made him the best finisher in the conference at the meet, and it helped the team finish 11
th out of 38 schools, ahead of six different Southland foes and three power conference opponents in Texas, Baylor and LSU.
The honor is the third of Bundotich's four-year career with the program, with the most recent coming to start his sophomore season back on September 4, 2024. His first was earned during his freshman campaign back on September 12, 2023, a season that ended with him winning the SLC individual title to lead A&M-Corpus Christi to its first-ever SLC Men's Cross Country Championship.
Khatevi, from Eldoret, Kenya, finished even higher in the women's 6K at the Arturo Barrios Invitational right after, following up her victory at last year's edition of the meet by finishing sixth out of 417 athletes with a time of 19:30.8. Behind her performance, the Islanders placed 16
th in the 48-team field, ahead of seven conference teams and five power conference schools in Arizona State, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech and Baylor.
With the win, Khatevi continued her dominance of the weekly award, taking it home for the seventh time in her career and second this year after also winning it on September 30 following her second-place finish at the Gans Creek Classic. Dating back to her first victory on October 23, 2024, the junior has won the honor in every voting period in which she has been nominated.
Bundotich, Khatevi and the rest of the Islanders get into action next at the Southland Conference Cross Country Championships, which take place on October 30 in Lake Charles, Louisiana. At the championships, Bundotich will be looking to take home the second individual title of his career, while Khatevi will be trying to make it three in a row.
#ShakasUp
