Elon’s Vargas, Oram Sweep SoCon Runners of the Week Awards

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Elon junior Luis Vargas and senior Allyson Oram were selected as the Southern Conference Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Runners of the Week as announced by the league office on Wednesday, Oct. 9. This is the Phoenix’s first sweep of the SoCon weekly awards since 2011.

Vargas and Oram earned their accolades after their performances at the prestigious Greater Louisville Classic this past Saturday, Oct. 5, in Louisville, Ky. Vargas claimed his second league weekly honor after running a time of 24:38.44 and finishing sixth out of 269 competitors in the men’s 8K race.

Oram paced the Phoenix women with a time of 17:51.77 and finished 24th out of 288 runners in the women’s 5K run. This is the first career SoCon weekly honor for the Marlborough, Mass., native and the first for the Elon women since Morgan Denecke in 2011.

The Elon women also continued to stay positioned at No. 12 in the most recent U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Southeast Regional rankings.

The Phoenix men and women will return to the course during the weekend of Oct. 18-19. Members of both teams will travel to Boone, N.C., for the Blue Ridge Open on Friday, Oct. 18. Other members from both squads will race the following day, Oct. 19, at the NCAA Pre-Nationals meet in Terra Haute, Ind.