WHITEFISH, Mont. - Two members of the University of Providence cross country team were awarded the Champions of Character Award by the Frontier Conference on Monday.

Freshman Nash Grafe and junior Kita Weingart both received the award on Monday when the All-Conference teams were announced. The award is given to athletes who embody the five values of the NAIA's Champions of Character – integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship and servant leadership.

In his first year of collegiate racing, Graphe has had a successful year.

"Nash is just so dedicated to running," head coach Tony Arnston said. "It's his life. He worked vey hard over the summer to prepare himself to come to college and be a successful runner. He set lofty goals for himself. He is an every-day worker. He's a great kid and definitely deserving of the Champions of Character award. He's the type of the kid that we want to recruit here."

One of the reasons Graphe received the award was his coachability, Arnston said.

 "He's very analytical," he said. "He studies his own abilities and his approach to how he thinks. But he's also very coachable. He wants to hear different sides, different angles, different workouts. He's a great teammate. He's fun to be around. I've enjoyed the way, especially being a freshman, how he jumped in and was very comfortable with all the other kids."

As Arnston looks to build the men's cross country program, he hopes to find more guys like Graphe.

"Nash at this level, he was a great steal recruit," Arnston said. "I think he's a sleeper guy. He's still maturing physically, which is very promising. He brings his love for running. This is what he loves to do. This is his passion. He loves to do it and he loves to study it. He's definitely a guru for running. I may learn as much from him as he may learn from me."

Kita Weingart has been on the team for two years prior to Arnston's hire in July. He has been impressed with her leadership of the team during the coaching transition.

"When I took the job, I sat down and talked to her and she really set some very realistic goals for this year and achieved them," he said. "She came to work every day. But mostly she sees the big picture. She wants to be part of this program becoming successful as a team and as a program. She's a great teammate for all the kids and set a very good foundation for our women's program and a good example of what kind of kids we want in our program."

Arnston is impressed with her competitiveness and is excited to work with her as she looks to improve next year.

"She likes to compete," he said. "I know she's not satisfied with where she's at, but she kept that perspective and still came, worked every day, got better, and has some great goals for next year as we move on with our program."