RICHARDSON -- UT Tyler men's cross country runner Jeff Chandler and men's soccer player Sergio Gardea were selected as the American Southwest Conference athletes of the week in their respective sports, the league office announced Monday.

Chandler, a senior from Longview, Texas (Spring Hill HS), repeats at the ASC Men's Cross Country Runner of the Week after leading the Patriots to a second place finish at the Rhodes Invitational in Memphis on Saturday.

Chandler ran an ASC season-best 8K time of 25:44 to finish fifth place overall in the meet.

The Patriots, ranked No. 5 in the South/Southeast Region, finished with 88 team points on the heels of top ten finishes from Chandler and Ross Renfroe.  As a team, UT Tyler finished second only to NCAA Division I power Memphis.

In men's soccer, junior goalkeeper Sergio Gardea (El Paso, TX / Cisco JC) posted back-to-back shutouts in conference road games against Schreiner and Texas Lutheran to be named the ASC Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week.

Gardea posted a combined six saves as the Patriots went 2-0. He is tied for the conference lead with four shutouts on the season.