Photo by: Raymond Tran
Mechanics Bank Cal Poly Student-Athlete of the Week: Jake Ritter
10/31/2022 1:00:00 PM | Cross Country
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — After etching his name in The Big West history books Saturday, graduate student Jake Ritter has been crowned the Mechanics Bank Cal Poly Student-Athlete of the Week.
Ritter, who medically redshirted a few meets into last season due to injury, became the first athlete in conference history to claim three Big West individual cross country titles. He ran a Big West meet record 8K time of 23:27.4 to power the Cal Poly men to their 18th conference title, first since 2019, and their lowest team score (22) since posting 18 in 2016.
"I really wanted to go out there and do something that no one else in The Big West had ever done," the Citrus Heights native said after the race, "so now I can say I've done that, and it feels great."
Ritter was one of six Mustangs that earned All-Big West honors at Saturday's meet. Cal Poly swept the team titles for the first time since 2018 and the sixth time in program history.
Across his career, the Granite Bay High grad has helped the Cal Poly men raise the conference trophy three times.
A two-time Cal Poly Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Ritter placed second in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters at The Big West Championships this spring on the track, qualifying for the NCAA West Preliminaries for the second straight year. He owns the fourth-fastest time in the 10,000 in school history, and the seventh fastest in the 5,000.
Ritter, who medically redshirted a few meets into last season due to injury, became the first athlete in conference history to claim three Big West individual cross country titles. He ran a Big West meet record 8K time of 23:27.4 to power the Cal Poly men to their 18th conference title, first since 2019, and their lowest team score (22) since posting 18 in 2016.
"I really wanted to go out there and do something that no one else in The Big West had ever done," the Citrus Heights native said after the race, "so now I can say I've done that, and it feels great."
Ritter was one of six Mustangs that earned All-Big West honors at Saturday's meet. Cal Poly swept the team titles for the first time since 2018 and the sixth time in program history.
Across his career, the Granite Bay High grad has helped the Cal Poly men raise the conference trophy three times.
A two-time Cal Poly Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Ritter placed second in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters at The Big West Championships this spring on the track, qualifying for the NCAA West Preliminaries for the second straight year. He owns the fourth-fastest time in the 10,000 in school history, and the seventh fastest in the 5,000.
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