SPARTANBURG, S.C. – ETSU’s Ben Varghese and Samford’s McKenzie Hogue have been named the Southern Conference men’s and women’s cross country runners of the week, respectively, for all competition between Sept. 18-24.

Varghese claimed his first collegiate win at the Virginia Tech Alumni Invitational on Friday, Sept. 20. The junior clocked a time of 24:25.9 in the 8k race and was the only runner from a school outside of a Power 5 conference to finish in the top 15. Varghese, who made his season debut, helped guide the team to a third-place finish. His win was the first by a Buccaneer since 2014.

The weekly award is the second of Varghese’s career.

Hogue notched a seventh-place finish at the 2019 Wingfoot XC Classic, finishing the 5k race with a time of 18:10.3. The freshman led the Bulldogs to a second-place finish as a team after leading them to a win in the previous race.

The weekly award is the second of Hogue’s career.

ETSU and Samford will both return to competition on Saturday, Oct. 5, for the Louisville Classic.

SoCon Men’s Runner of the Week
Sept. 4: Ryan Adams, Furman

Sept. 11: Dillon Dean, Samford

Sept. 18: Ryan Adams, Furman

Sept. 25: Ben Varghese, ETSU

SoCon Women’s Runner of the Week
Sept. 4: Gabbi Jennings, Furman

Sept. 11: McKenzie Hogue, Samford

Sept.18: Gabbi Jennings, Furman

Sept. 25: McKenzie Hogue, Samford

-www.SoConSports.com-