FARMINGTON, Utah — Ari Smith snapped a 15-year victory drought for the Portland State men's cross country program when he won the Lewis & Clark XC Opener Friday. It's only fitting that he ends another drought as his victory made him the Vikings' first Big Sky Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Week in five years.
 
Smith earned the honor from the conference Tuesday, making him the first men's runner to win the award since Jordan MacIntosh in 2021.
 
Smith victory at the Lewis & Clark XC Opener made him the first Viking men's runner to win a race since Zach Carpenter won two in 2011. Smith won the men's 5k in 15:01.7, shaving more than 30 seconds off the school record he set last year as a freshman.
 
Smith and the Vikings will race again this week, as they head to the Ash Creek Collegiate Friday in Monmouth, Ore.