DENVER – The Western Athletic Conference honored University of Idaho sophomore Hannah Kiser on Tuesday as the Verizon Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week for her performance the week of Sept. 12-18.

Kiser, a second-year Vandal from Wenatchee, Wash. (Wenatchee HS), broke the Idaho school record for 6000m with a 20:58.43 at the Sundodger Invitational on Saturday at Seattle, Wash.. She was the top collegiate finisher and took second overall in a 71-runner field that featured Pac-12 teams Oregon State and Washington, the nation’s 11th-ranked program.

After breaking the Idaho freshman record on the course last year in her Vandal debut, Kiser ran 32 seconds faster on Saturday. Idaho’s women finished second behind UW and posted their fastest team average time ever on the course.

The honor is the first of Kiser’s career and Idaho’s first of the 2011 season. She said that her success comes from a strong team bond that has gotten stronger since last year’s WAC team title performance.

“The whole team has been really focused,” Kiser said. “We had a lot of success last season, and we want that to continue that success. We all work really, really hard together to push each other, not only in practice, but in the race, so you’re thinking about yourself and also how you can push the team forward.”

Kiser and the Vandals will next be in action at the Dellinger Invitational, hosted by the University of Oregon, on Saturday, Oct. 1, at Eugene, Ore.