Cal Poly junior Miranda Daschian was selected as the Big West Conference Cross Country Athlete of the Week on Tuesday, in addition to also being chosen as Cal Poly’s Coca-Cola Student-Athlete of the Week.
Both accolades come after her winning performance on Saturday at the Mark Covert Classic, where she took first place among 163 individuals, earning a 5k time of 17:45.7 at Carbon Canyon Park in Brea.
Daschian, in her second year with the Mustangs after transferring to Cal Poly as Cuesta College’s 2016-17 Athlete of the Year, edged Arizona State’s Daan Haven and Cal Baptist’s Anna Mate for the win.
Afterward, DyeStat/RunnerSpace spoke to Miranda about her day; CLICK HERE to view the interview (http://www.dyestat.com/gprofile.php?mgroup_id=44531&do=videos&video_id=252962).
A Psychology major from Atascadero, Daschian came in second place at last fall’s conference championship meet, before going on to make the all-conference team in two separate events for track this past spring.
Both the Mustang women’s and men’s squads swept the team victories at the season-opening meet, as the women’s team compiled a score of 56 while the men’s team tallied 60 points. The Orange County course will also host the Big West Championships on Oct. 27.
Daschian’s Big West honor marks the 18th time since 2009 the conference’s weekly women’s award has gone to a Cal Poly competitor, while the men’s all-time total (since the accolade was implemented in 2001) stands at 37, making for a combined total of 55 for the program as a whole.
Up next, Cal Poly visits UC Santa Barbara’s annual Lagoon Open, scheduled for an 11 a.m. start Sept. 15 in Isla Vista.
-Provided by Cal Poly
