NEW ORLEANS, La. - South Alabama cross country runner Vincent Rono was named Sun Belt Conference Runner of the Week on Tuesday afternoon.  It is the senior's first this season and fifth career SBC R.O.W in cross country.  Rono has earned the honor a total of nine times since becoming a Jaguar in 2005.

The Bomet, Kenya native won his fourth career race as a Jaguar at the LSU Cross Country Festival on Saturday.  He breezed through the 8K (5 mile) course in 25:22.84 to lead a 1-2-3 finish by South Alabama.  Teammates Tonny Okello (25:27.60) and newcomer Micah Tirop (25:40.67) cleared the field by over a minute and a half.

Despite not scoring as a team at LSU, the Jaguar men's team remains ranked in the United States Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Regional Poll.  South Alabama dropped from its preseason No. 9 ranking in the South Region to No. 12 in the poll released Tuesday afternoon.  No other Sun Belt Conference school is ranked in the USTFCCCA Poll.

The Jaguar men's and women's teams will be in action on Friday, September 29 at the Adidas Notre Dame Invitational.  The host team is ranked No. 16 nationally.