SPOKANE, Wash. - Northwest Nazarene University's Barak Watson has been selected as the Great Northwest Athletic Conference cross country Athlete of the Week, as announced this afternoon by the GNAC office in Spokane.

Barak (Fr., Nampa, ID - Columbia HS) finished second in the Bob Firman Invitational at Boise in an 8,000 meter time of 25:37.23. In three races this fall, Watson has a pair of second-place finishes and a fourth. He also placed second in the open division in the UW Sundodger Invitational Sept. 19 and placed fourth in the Roger Curren Invitational Sept. 12 at Nampa.

"Barak is having a great start to his freshman year, with his second consecutive runner up finish against quality competition," commented NNU assistant coach Ben Gall.  "It is great to see his accomplishments being recognized by the conference."

Watson and the Crusaders will be in action again on Saturday when they travel to the Charles Bowles Invitational, hosted by Willamette University in Salem, Oregon.