The Missouri Valley Conference announced today that Missouri State sophomore Pasca Cheruiyot has been honored with her third Athlete of the Week award of the season. Cheruiyot, who finished sixth Saturday at the Chile Pepper Festival (6K) in Fayetteville, Ark., set a new Missouri State record with a time of 20:27.18. Cheruiyot broke her own school record of 20:34 set on October 4, 2008, at Stillwater, Okla. She also won Athlete of the Week honors on September 23 and October 7, following a course record and school record, respectively.

Cheruiyot’s new school record, along with seven other Missouri State runners posting personal best times, helped the Bears maintain their 8th place ranking in the Midwest region of the USTFCCCA poll. The Bears remain ranked ahead of all other Valley schools in the Midwest region. The other ranked Valley schools were Wichita State at 10 and UNI at 15.

Missouri State cross country will be in action next as they host the State Farm MVC Cross Country Championship, which will be held at the Missouri State Cross Country Facility on Saturday, November 1.

Week 4

1. Minnesota
2. Illinois
3. Iowa
4. Nebraska
5. Oklahoma State
6. Tulsa
7. Kansas State
8. Missouri State
9. Kansas
10. Wichita State
11. Missouri
12. Northwestern
13. Oklahoma
14. Iowa State
15. Northern Iowa