PORTLAND, Ore. - The GNAC announced the weekly award winners for the first week of the regular season on Monday, with Northwest Nazarene's Brody Kemble earning the Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Week honor.

Kemble emerged victorious at the Dr. Thad Scholes XC Classic on Friday in Twin Falls, Idaho. The senior and reigning all-conference performer beat a field of 53 competitors at the event, kicking off his final cross country campaign with a 7k time of 21:50.7 minutes. That was good enough for a nearly 10-second victory ahead of teammate Grady Mylander (22:00.2 minutes).
 
NNU Head Coach Greg Mitchell: "Brody and the men's team raced well at the opener. We talked about a race plan with the guys and Brody executed it to perfection. Brody and his teammates have big goals this year, so this was a great way to kick things off."

McPherson and the Nighthawks now return to Nampa for their regular season home opener this week, hosting Westminster on Thursday and Colorado Mesa on Saturday.