Natalia Ruiz MW Athlete of the Week

Women's Cross Country

Ruiz Named Mountain West Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Week

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV cross country's Natalia Ruiz was named the Mountain West Athlete of the Week, the league announced Tuesday.

This marks the fourth MW weekly award of the sophomore's career, earning MW Freshman Athlete of the Week three times during the 2021 season. 

Ruiz, originally from Madrid, Span, led her team once again, finishing first individually out of 35 runners Friday afternoon at the Steve T. Reeder Memorial Invitational, which was hosted by Utah State at the Steve and Dona Reeder Cross Country Course in Logan, Utah. Ruiz ran the 5K with a time of 18:08.4, finishing almost 17 seconds ahead of second place (18:25.4).

This is Natalia's second Steve T. Reeder Memorial Invitational win, also finishing first in 2021 with a time of 18:25.2. The psychology major has paced the Scarlet & Gray in all three cross country meets this season. 

QUOTABLE: "Really proud of Natalia, she has done a great job of continuing to progress each meet this season. Ruiz ran really, really well this weekend on an amazing course. She has paced the Rebels over the last two years and has remained one of the best distance runners on the team and in school history, just as a sophomore. Really happy the conference is recognizing her with this award and we're excited to see her continued success." - head coach Dorian Scott

NEXT FOR THE REBELS: UNLV will close out regular-season with a trip to the Golden State for Santa Clara's Bronco Invitational (Oct. 15). The MW Championships are slated for Oct. 28 in Laramie, Wyoming, while the NCAA Regionals are two weeks later in Seattle, Washington on Nov. 11.

-UNLV-

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