AVE MARIA, Fla.- Ave Maria University sophomore cross country runner Adam Paga was named The Sun Conference's Runner of the Week for men's cross country, as announced by the league office Monday morning. Paga earned the weekly honor from the conference thanks to his standout performance in the MGA Invitational, which saw him cross the fininsh line first and lead the Gyrenes to their second straight team title.

Paga's selection marks the second straight Runner of the Week for the AMU men's program, who has swept the honors thus far this season. Ave Maria's week one winner was freshman Jackson Pope, who was the top Gyrene finisher in the season-opening STU XC Invitational in Miami Gardens. Paga finished second among Gyrenes in that race, which saw Ave Maria edge out NCAA Division II Nova Southeastern for the team title.

Paga was the first Ave Maria runner to claim a men's individual championship since Gabriel Hogan won at Middle Georgia during the 2018 season. The sophomore, who was a Second Team All-Sun Conference selection last fall, completed the 8k course in 28:23.69. Paga's time was the best in the field by about 15 and a half seconds. Paga's efforts, which led a crew of six Gyrenes in the top eight finishers, led the Gyrenes to a 43-point margin of victory over runner-up Morehouse College.

Saturday marked the second time in Paga's AMU career in which he finished first among Gyrene runners - the first came in his collegiate debut at the Fire Short Course Invitational in 2020, where he placed fifth. The sophomore has been in the top three Ave Maria finishers in each of his eight collegiate races, which includes a 14th place finish in the 2020 Sun Conference Championships, which earned him Second Team All-Sun Conference honors.

After a one-week break, the Gyrenes will return to action on Friday, September 17. AMU will run at the National Catholic Invitational, hosted in South Bend, Indiana by the University of Notre Dame. The event will feature some of the top Catholic university cross country programs in the nation, and will be held at the Burke Golf Course on the ND campus. 

The women's race will lead off the action at 3:30 p.m, and will be the last race run by the Ave Maria teams before the Gyrenes step onto their home course on September 25 for the Ave Maria Invitational.