Monday, May 13, 2013

ANCHORAGE - Two University of Alaska Anchorage athletes – Ruth Keino and Susan Tanui – have been named U.S. Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association National Athletes of the Week following their performances at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships last weekend.

Tanui, from Eldoret, Kenya and Keino, a local of Kapcheno, Kenya, combined for 54 points between four different distance events in two days to help lead the Seawolves to their first-ever outdoor GNAC team crown. The Seawolves bested three-time defending champion Seattle Pacific with a 169-146 win.

Tanui kicked off the women’s track competition Friday with a dominant win in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 10:41.88, winning the race by more than 20 seconds. Fewer than four hours later the pair closed the day with a 1-2 showing in the 10,000 meters, with Keino taking the win at 36:02.00, less than a second ahead of Tanui.

On Saturday Tanui took fourth in the 1500 meters in 4:28.78 and Keino placed sixth in 4:33.30. Keino and Tanui concluded their weekends with another 1-2 showing at 5,000 meters in 17:35.97 and 17:37.08, respectively. In total the duo was close to scoring a third of the team’s championship points.