October 03, 2012

By Alan Grosbach, Manager of Communications and Sports Information for the NAIA

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - John Gilbertson of The Master's (Calif.) has been named the NAIA National Men's Cross Country Runner of the Week, the national office announced Wednesday. Gilbertson was selected based on his performance from Sept. 24 - 30 and was chosen out of a pool of conference/independent runner of the week selections.

Gilbertson, a native of Santa Clarita, Calif., captured an individual championship for the third consecutive meet as he finished first overall at the Stanford Invitational (Calif.) on Sept. 29 with a time of 24:07. The senior harrier, who raced among the lead pack for a majority of the 8K course, beat 255 other runners, including individuals from NCAA Division I Stanford (Calif.) and 2011 NCAA Division II Men's Cross Country National Championship runner-up Adams State (Colo.). As a team, the Mustangs finished 17th out of 29 schools.

Gilbertson's previous victories this season came at the UC Irvine (Calif.) Invitational on Sept. 8 and The Mustang Challenge (Calif.) on Sept. 22. Gilbertson was named to the 2011 NAIA Men's Cross Country All-America Team after finishing third at the 2011 NAIA Men's Cross Country National Championships.

For the complete NAIA Men's Cross Country Runner of the Week calendar, click here. The next Runner of the Week will be announced on Oct. 10.