WALNUT CREEK – Chico State’s Alia Gray has been named the California Collegiate Athletic Association’s (CCAA) Female Cross Country Runner of the Week for the week of Sept. 5-11, it was announced on Monday. The senior from Santa Rosa’s Maria Carillo High School opened her 2011 season with a victory at the 80-runner Humboldt Invitational Saturday. Gray helped lead the Wildcats to a perfect score of 15, breaking the tape and the end of the six-kilometer course in a time of 21:44.67, finishing two seconds clear of teammate Amy Schnittger.

Gray’s 2010 cross country season was limited to two events because of an injury, but she bounced back to win the 10,000 meters at the CCAA Track & Field Championships. Gray finished 34th at the 2009 NCAA Cross Country Championships to earn All-America honors. She’s also a two-time All-CCAA and All-West Region recipient on the trails.

Chico State is next in action on Sept. 24 when it competes in the Stanford Invitational.

2011 CCAA Female Runners of the Week:? Aug. 29 -Sept. 4: Paxton Cota (San Francisco State); Sept. 5-11: Alia Gray (Chico State).