FRISCO, Texas – Junior
Elizabeth Khatevi of the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi cross country team was given a familiar honor on Wednesday afternoon, as it was announced by the league office that she was named the Southland Conference Women's Performer of the Week for the voting period of September 23-29.
Khatevi, from Eldoret, Kenya, got into action for her first time in the new season at the prestigious Gans Creek Classic in Columbia, Missouri and picked up right where she left off from her historic 2025 campaign. Competing in a stacked field of 251 athletes and 13 different power conference schools in the 6K Gold Invitational, Khatevi took home the silver medal, finishing second with a time of 19:03.6 that clocked in only five seconds behind Isca Chelangat of Arkansas's mark of 18:58.4. This time was nearly a full minute better than her mark of 19:58.8 from her victory in the 6K Black race at last year's Gans Creek Classic, and it was the second-best 6K time of her illustrious career so far.
Khatevi's win is the second for the Islanders so far in 2026, joining freshman
Caroline Yegon's nod as the first Women's Performer of the Week for the new season back on September 9. It is also the sixth of her career with the program so far, having previously taken home five in a row in a streak that started back on October 23, 2024, and extended throughout all four votes during the 2025 season in a clean sweep.
Khatevi and the Islanders will resume competition on October 16, traveling to College Station to wrap up the regular season at the Arturo Barrios Invitational. At that meet, Khatevi will be looking to defend her individual crown, having won the top prize in a field of 336 competitors last year.
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