NEW ORLEANS – After opening the 2020 campaign with 5k wins at the Azalea City Classic over the weekend, University of South Alabama cross country runners Carolien Millenaar and Kirami Yego were selected as the Female and Male Sun Belt Conference Runners of the Week on Thursday as announced by the league office.

The honor marks the third of Millenaar's career as she was twice selected as the top runner in the conference during the 2019 season, while it is the first of Yego's young career.

Millenaar picked up where she finished off a season ago as she paced the field at the Azalea City Classic crossing the line with a time of 17:49.5. The win marked the second consecutive year that she has captured the meet title, and was the third title of her career. Millenaar dominated the field as she finished nearly 30 seconds faster than Troy's Macki Walsh.

With Millenaar's win, the Jaguars have now taken home top individual honors on the women's side at the meet in each of the last six season's dating back to the 2015 meet when JoAnna McCoy won.

In his first cross country race as a Jaguar, Yego won the men's race with a time of 15:23.6, which was 16 seconds faster than the next closest runner. Led by Yego, South dominated the field taking home eight of the top nine spots, including each of the first six to cruise to the team title at the Azalea City Classic. With the strong performance, South Alabama scored 15 points, 60 points better than fellow Sun Belt Conference member Louisiana, which placed second at the meet.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the Finish Line Club, the track and field and cross country specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund.  All donations to the Finish Line Club go directly to support the South Alabama track and field/cross country programs.  For more information on how you can join visit:  jaguarathleticfund.com/finishlineclub

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