Emily Clarke Earns SCIAC Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Week

CLAREMONT, Calif. - After leading the CMS women's cross country team to a strong opening-day performance at the Mark Covert Classic on Saturday, Emily Clarke earned the SCIAC Athlete of the Week Award, the league office announced today.

Clarke helped CMS finish second at the event, behind only the hosts from Division I CSU Fullerton, and ahead of Division I teams from USC, Sacramento State and Pepperdine. She came in fifth place overall, the highest finish on the Athenas, and the first time in her career that she was the top finisher for CMS. 

She was followed closely by several of her teammates, as CMS had four runners finish in the top 10 at the event. Natalie Bitetti was right behind Clarke in sixth, while Meredith Bloss came in ninth place and Riley Harmon, a returning All-American from 2019, came in tenth. 

CMS was seeing its first action in almost two years, since it last competed in 2019. That season, the Athenas won the SCIAC title for its tenth straight league crown, and then captured the NCAA West Region Championship to earn a team qualification to nationals for the 12th straight season. 

CMS will be back in action in two weeks when it travels to participate in the UC Riverside Invitational on Sept. 18.