UTEP track and field landed two Conference USA weekly honors with Male Track Athlete of the Week Michael Saruni and Female Athlete of the Week Lilian Koech, the league office announced Tuesday afternoon.
Saruni placed first in the 800m at the Vanderbilt Commodore Invitational with a school record time of 1:45.62 on Jan. 13, in Nashville, Tenn. The Kenya native is the first collegiate athlete to run under 1:46.0 since Dirk Heinze of Arkansas did it in 2001, putting Saruni fifth overall on the NCAA All-Time Best list.
The sophomore’s time set a facility record for the Commodore Invitational and a new school record previously held by former teammate Emmanuel Korir (1:46.