Oct. 8, 2003

Florida Atlantic University's Manny Huerta and Claudia Beitel were named the Atlantic Sun Men's and Women's cross country Runners-of-the-Week by the league office on Wednesday afternoon. Huerta led the men while Beitel set pace for the women at the FLrunners.com Invitational, Saturday, October 4.

Huerta set a new Owl record in the 5K, finishing seventh with a time of 16:04. His finish pushed the men to a fifth place finish. Huerta's time is one of the top-10 times in the conference this season. Huerta, a redshirt freshman from Miami, FL, has finished in the top-10 in each of the two races he has run this season. This marks the first time Huerta has been honored as Runner-of-the-Week.

Beitel finished fourth in the 120-woman field at the Flrunners.com Invitational, helping the Owls to a third place finish in the 16-team field. Beitel broke her own school record in the 5K, coming in with a time of 18:37. Her time is the eighth best time in the conference this season. The senior from Longwood, FL, has now finished in the top-10 in each of the four meets she has participated in this year. This is also the first time Beitel has won Runner-of-the-Week.

The Owls' cross country teams will return to action this weekend at the Disney World Invitational in Orlando, FL.