Jim Walmsley Named Mountain West Athlete of the Week
9/13/2011 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Sept. 13, 2011
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Air Force senior Jim Walmsley was named the Mountain West Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Week, the conference office announced this afternoon (Sept. 13). It is the first such honor for Walmsley, who shared the weekly honor with Colorado State's Hannah Pensack-Rinehart, who earned the women's weekly honor.
Walmsley opened the 2011 season with a victory in the men's 6K at the UCCS Rust Buster Invitational last Saturday in Colorado Springs. The native of Scottsdale, Ariz., covered the course in a time of 18:30.72, finishing 15 seconds ahead of the rest of the 135-runner field. His mark is a new meet record, bettering the previous time of 19:03.00 by 33 seconds.
He paced the Falcons to three of the top-five finishes in the non-scoring meet, joining Matt Bell (third) and Jeremy Drenckhahn (fifth).
Air Force returns to action on Saturday, Sept. 17, when it travels to Lincoln, Neb., for the annual Woody Greeno Invitational. Walmsley is the defending champion of that 8K race, placing first in 2010 with the 17th-fastest time ever at Nebraska's Pioneer Park.
