2019 All-Pacific West Conference Men's Cross Country Awards
2019 All-Pacific West Conference Women's Cross Country Awards

IRVINE, Calif. – In Tuesday's announcements of Pacific West Conference postseason awards, Academy of Art women's and men's cross country each had one Urban Knight recognized with individual honors along with seven on the All-PacWest Teams. Graduate student Hasna Kaarour, the individual champion of the PacWest Cross Country Championships, was subsequently named PacWest Runner of the Year and graduate student James Young earned PacWest Newcomer of the Year on the men's side.

In addition, All-PacWest Team honors were officially awarded to Kaarour (First Team), junior Natalia Novak (First Team), and redshirt sophomore Audrey Rosencrans (Second Team) on the women's side while the men had Young plus graduate student Charlie Messai earn First Team selections and the sophomore tandem of Hudson Lockette and Markus Anderson Deakin bestowed places on the Second Team for their performances at the championship meet.

A vote by the PacWest head coaches determined the individual honors and the All-PacWest teams were determined by the results of the PacWest Championship meet on Oct. 26. The top-21 finishers received All-PacWest honors, with seven runners on each team.

One year after breaking on the scene as the 2018 PacWest Newcomer of the Year, Kaarour delivered the best race of her ART U career at the conference championship. Her 6k personal record 21:22.85 led her to the PacWest title by nearly 14 full seconds, All-PacWest First Team honors, and helped the Knights tie its best finish to date (second). To date this season, the Landscape Architecture major has led ART U in three of four races, finishing fourth or higher in each (first at PacWest, third at SF State Invite, fourth at Kim Duyst Invite).

Novak clocked in with her own 6k personal record of 22:07.48 and a fifth-place finish for the All-PacWest First Team selection while Rosencrans, last season's PacWest Freshman of the Year, improved upon her 2018 placement with a 10th-place finish and a time of 22:34.38 for her second consecutive All-PacWest Second Team award.

Racing in the upper tier for the entirety of the PacWest 8k, Young came across the finish line in sixth. His time of 25:39.01 was nearly a 20-second improvement on his debut mark from the Capital Cross Challenge and secured All-PacWest First Team in the process.

Close to Young throughout, Messai finished the championship race strong, taking home All-PacWest First Team honors in seventh at 25:41.22. Lockette (12th) and Anderson Deakin (14th) went 26:02.19 and 26:09.35 respectively for a pair of All-PacWest Second Team selections.

Academy of Art sends its full men's and women's squads to NCAA West Regionals hosted by Western Oregon at Ash Creek Preserve this Saturday, Nov. 9.