The Oral Roberts University cross country teams mixed things up from their normal Saturday morning competitions as they competed in the Texas Tech Open on Friday night.

Sophomore Jonathan Harper has been named the Southland Conference Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Week for the first time in his career, it was announced by the league office on Tuesday.

In the second meet of the season, the Oral Roberts University cross country teams set a number of personal bests, including five of six runners on the men's side at the 6k distance. The women's team faced a 4k race for the first time this year.

After a number of personal bests and top-10 finishes in the opening meet of the season, the ORU cross country teams will try to continue momentum at the J.K. Gold Classic, hosted by Wichita State on Saturday.

Junior Samantha Watson led from start to finish to win the women's 5k race, while sophomore David Batchelder finished second in the men's race to open the season at the Bob Timmons Classic.

Led by junior Samantha Watson on the women's side, the ORU men's and women's cross country teams will start the 2013 season as part of the seven-team Bob Timmons Classic, hosted by the University of Kansas.

For the second year in a row, the Oral Roberts University women's cross country team has been named a recipient of the NCAA Public Recognition Award based on APR scores. ORU had an APR score in the top 10 percent of all squads for the 2011-12 year.

A three-time state qualifier, local product Abby Hoover has signed to run cross country and track for Oral Roberts University it was announced by the ORU coaching staff on Thursday.