After a strong second-place finish that helped the Seattle University men's cross country team win the Emerald City Open last Saturday at Lower Woodland Park, redshirt senior Matthew McClement (Bellingham, Wash.) has been named the Featured Student-Athlete of the Week on GoSeattleU.com.

McClement crossed the finish line with a time of 25:53.3, over a minute-and-a-half faster than his previous best time at the event. One of this year's team captains, McClement clinched a spot on the travel squad for the Western Athletic Conference Championships.

McClement is a two-time Second Team All-Great West Conference performer, finishing 11th at the 2009 Great West Conference Cross Country Championships and 14th at the 2010 conference meet. He also notched five top-five finishes in distance events at previous GWC indoor and outdoor championships during his collegiate running career.

"Matthew is a hard worker and a great leader for our team. He's on a completely different training schedule from the rest of the team. That's a difficult situation, to train on your own 90 percent of the time. It's allowed him to put together the most consistent training he's ever had. He's focused on his and the team's goals and the rewards he's reaping from this training schedule make it all worthwhile. He's looking stronger every race. I'm thrilled about the possibilities for him as we head into the postseason," Seattle U head cross country coach Trisha Steidl said.

In the classroom, McClement is a biochemistry major with a 3.306 grade point average. He is a two-time Academic All-Great West honoree for cross country as well as a three-time Academic All-GWC recipient in track and field. This is the second time in his career that McClement has been named the Featured Student-Athlete of the Week, previously earning the honor Oct. 27, 2009.

McClement will prepare for the WAC Cross Country Championships, to be held in Ruston, La., Saturday, Oct. 27. Those Seattle U runners who did not earn a spot on the travel squad last Saturday will compete at the Beaver Classic this Friday, Oct. 19, beginning at 4 p.m. in Corvallis, Ore.

The Seattle University athletics department names a Featured Student-Athlete each Tuesday based on performances both in the classroom and in competition.