PacWest Press Release

Phoenix, AZ -- Academy of Art University men's cross country starts Week Two on a high note with junior Amos Maru earning the first Pacific West Conference Men's Cross Country Runner of the Week honor of 2010. In addition to Maru, juniors Daveson Marindich, Mark Bretan, and Shawn Daut all captured places on the PacWest Weekly Top 10 Honor roll. The selections were announced by the PacWest Media Office in Phoenix, AZ, on Monday, Sept. 7, for races contested on Sept. 4.




In a season-opening USF Invitational that saw ART U place 5th overall as a team, Maru led the squad with a 4th individual finish to go with a time of 25:04 on the 8k course at Golden Gate Park. The Nandi Hills, Kenya native topped his run in last year's meet by more than five seconds.






Marindich, who consistently finished right behind Maru, stayed true to form with a 10th place result and an impressive improvement from 2009. A season ago, Marindich posted a time of 25:30.2 at the USF Invitational and his mark of 25:14 significantly trumped that this year. After two seasons, the junior has knocked more than an entire minute off his time on the 8k course.



With a few injuries potentially hindering the Urban Knights' chances of finishing strong, Bretan turned in an inspiring performance last Saturday. The Novato, CA native began 2010 with a new personal record of 27:24 and a 42nd place result among four-year contestants which gave ART U an important boost. Bretan's run was the talk of the meet according to Assistant Coach Anne Ricketts.

"Mark has improved by leaps and bounds from last year so that's very exciting to see," Coach Ricketts said.



Finally, Academy of Art University needed a solid run from Daut to finish the meet strong. Competing despite a hamstring injury, Daut's time of 28:00 earned him 47th individually among four-year contestants and kept the Knights in contention for their final placement as a team.

This is the third Runner of the Week honor for Maru in his career and the first of the season. Marindich's first Weekly Top 10 selection of 2010 is the fifth for his career while it is the first ever selection for Bretan and Daut.