OGDEN, Utah - Mike Hardy was named the Big Sky cross country athlete of the week after his performance at the Utah Open Invite this past Saturday. lt;br /> lt;br />Hardy, a senior from Mountain Green, Utah, finished 2nd with a time of 19.14.7 on the 6k course and came within mere inches of beating David Elliot of Boise State. It was a great performance due to the fact that the he was only allowed to race the last 600 meters as the team was using the race as a workout. lt;br /> lt;br />"I held him back ans wouldn't let him go until the last 600 or else I think he could have won it," WSU cross country Paul Pilkington said. "It was really nice that he won that award." lt;br /> lt;br />Hardy shared the honor with Matt McElroy of Northern Arizona. lt;br /> lt;br />The Wildcats will return to racing this Saturday as they head to Provo, Utah to takes part in the BYU Autumn Classic.