Soca Wins 2nd WAC Athlete of the Week Honor Following 5K at Bryan Clay
4/23/2025 1:00:00 PM | Cross Country & Track
ARLINGTON, TX--- For the second time this season, Valentin Soca was named the Western Athletic Conference Track Athlete of the Week following a stellar performance in the 5K at the Bryan Clay Invitational.
Soca earned the honor after running the 7th fastest time in NCAA history in the 5K and finishing in third behind Habtom Samuel and Ishamael Kipkurui of New Mexico, who would finish with the fastest and third fastest time in collegiate history in the same heat. Soca was not only up against Samuel and Kipkurui but several other All-Americans and professional runners in the loaded field at Bryan Clay and would more than hold his own in the race.
The 5K time would have been the stadium and meet record if not for Samuel and Kipkurui, and it bested his previous personal best by nearly 17 seconds. Soca has been on a tear in his junior campaign, having already set the program record in the 10K at The TEN a few weeks back with a time of 27:37.65. That time was the 17th fastest in NCAA history in the 10K and will set up a very intriguing postseason for Soca as he seeks to become an All-American for the second straight year.
Players Mentioned
