Kleinsasser Earns Second SCIAC AOW Recognition

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Nov. 5, 2008) – All season Eric Kleinsasser has turned heads in the conference and the region for the way he tackles the cross country courses that he runs. This week he was recognized as the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Athlete of the Week for his performance at the SCIAC Championships meet at Prado Park in Chino Hills, Calif.

At the first SCIAC meet of his career, on Oct. 18, he claimed victory and this past weekend on Nov. 1 he ran even better to clinch the 2008 SCIAC Runner of the Year award as the top finisher at the Championships.

The Tigers harrier, who was named SCIAC AOW after his week one run at the Asics-UCI Invitational, capped off his inaugural cross country regular season with a 25:43.15 mark in the 8K, a 30 second improvement from his Multi-Duals time and a minute faster than his finish at that first meet of the season.

Kleinsasser led the pack to their third consecutive SCIAC team title at the meet and is a big reason why Occidental is currently #32 in the West Region.

The team will go on to compete at the Regional meet in Portland, OR on Nov. 15 with the goal of finishing in the top two teams, which will punch the Tigers a ticket to the NCAA National meet hosted by Hanover College in Hanover, IN on Saturday, Nov. 22.