Diercks, Masondo honored again

After their performances at the Chili Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Ark., on Saturday, Trojan runners Sanele Masondo and Emily Diercks each earned National Athlete of the Week by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) and the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference.

In his wake last weekend, Masondo left a field that included NCAA Division I athletes and notable NJCAA rivals. He won the Chili Pepper's McDonnell Memorial 8k race by eight seconds with a time of 23:18.4.

This is Masondo's second honor, having also been selected two weeks ago after his victory at the Greeno/Dirksen Invitational in Lincoln, Neb. The sophomore from Kwazulu Natal, South Africa, joins Wesley Banguria as the only other male from Colby to be the M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week multiple times.

Dierks left no doubt who would win the Prairie Fire Pepper women's 5k at the Chile Pepper. About a mile into the race, she left the pack and won by 15 seconds in 17:17.1.

Diercks was the top conference and national JUCO runner two weeks ago when she won the Greeno/Dirksen Invitational by 20 seconds. She ran more than a minute faster in Fayetteville.

The sophomore from Hoxie is the third female athlete from Colby to be named the M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the cross country season.

Currently, the men's squad is ranked No. 1 in the USTFCCCA poll. The Trojans host their only home meet on Oct. 15 at the Meadow Lake Country Club. The race begins at 10 a.m.