April 28, 2025
National Athlete of the Week is an award selected and presented by the USTFCCCA Communications Staff at the beginning of each week to multiple collegiate Track and Field athletes, when applicable (male and female for each of the three NCAA divisions, the National Junior College divisions, and the NAIA).
Nominations are open to the public. Coaches and sports information directors are encouraged to nominate their student-athletes; as are student-athletes, their families and friends, and fans of their programs. Nominated athletes are noticed before those athletes found through searching TFRRS.
The award seeks to highlight not only the very best times, marks and scores on a week-to-week basis, but also performances that were significant on the national landscape and/or the latest in a series of strong outings. Quality of competition, suspenseful finishes and other factors will also play a role in the decision.
NCAA DIVISION I MEN – Nathan Green, Washington
Senior | Mid-Distance | Boise, Idaho
Both the Men’s Distance Medley Relay Championship of America and the Men’s 4xMile Relay Championship of America came down to a kick this past weekend at the Penn Relays.
Washington, which had never won a Penn Relays Wheel in program history, had to like its chances with Nathan Green on the anchor of both relays. Green wouldn’t be denied either time, as he outlasted a Who’s Who of collegiate mid-distance stars to deliver the Huskies two titles in Philadelphia.
The first victory came on Friday in the DMR. Green got the baton from Kyle Reinheimer in third place after Reinheimer clocked the fastest 800-meter split of the race at 1:46.29. Green, who won the NCAA 1500-meter title in 2023 and finished runner-up in the mile this year, put himself in position entering the final lap and then blasted past Oregon’s Rheinhardt Harrison down the homestretch to secure Washington’s first Penn Relays Wheel in program history.
Then came the 4xMile on Saturday under rainy and windy conditions – a dream scenario for the Seattle-based Huskies. Green drew anchor duties alongside individual-event collegiate record-holders Liam Murphy of Villanova (1500 meters) and Ethan Strand of North Carolina (mile), as well as Gary Martin of Virginia. The quartet was lockstep through 1209 meters and ratcheted down the pace over the final lap. None of them could match Green in the final 100 meters, though, as the Washington standout closed in 53-low to turn UW’s unicycle into a bicycle.
This is the first time in program history that male athletes from Washington have been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season.
NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN – Lexy Halladay-Lowry, BYU
Senior | Distance | Meridian, Idaho
Lexy Halladay-Lowry continues to impress.
Just one week after she clocked the third fastest 5000-meter mark in collegiate history of 14:52.93, Halladay-Lowry delivered another sensational performance – this time in the steeplechase at the Payton Jordan Invitational. The BYU standout traversed the barrier-laden 3000 meters in 9:18.05 to become the fifth fastest performer with the sixth fastest performance in collegiate history. Halladay-Lowry obliterated the competition, as she won the section by nearly one full minute.
This is the first time in program history that a female athlete from BYU has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season.
NCAA DIVISION II MEN – Augustana (S.D.) DMR
Who says the DMR is an indoor-only event?
Not Augustana (S.D.), that’s for sure.
The Vikings took a crack at the NCAA DII outdoor record, set by Azusa Pacific last year at the Rossi Relays, running 9:49.64. Despite falling short by more than six seconds, the time puts them at No. 2 in the history books. It’s also a school record, a more notable accolade than it may first appear.
Augustana (S.D.) has a knack for DMR excellence at the Drake Relays. The program has posted four of the top six all-time marks between 2022 and 2025. This year, it was Payton Brown, Jude Jarding, Tyson Ricker, and Ryan Hartman that made up the coveted roster. Teams like NCAA DIII Wartburg and NJCAA Iowa Western – distance powerhouses in their respective divisions – gave the Vikings a run for their money, but the title remains with Augustana (S.D.) for another go around.
This marks the first time in program history that an athlete from Augustana (S.D.) has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season.
NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN – Hannah Hill, North Greenville
Senior | Multi | Simpsonville, South Carolina
Meet Hannah Hill.
Hill scored 45.5 points at the Conference Carolinas Outdoor Championships.
The senior competed in seven events across the weekend, splitting her efforts between the track and the field, which included a victory in the heptathlon with a conference record 5,920 points. Oh, you thought that was the seven events we were talking about? Guess again.
The South Carolina native also won conference titles in the 400 meters and javelin, finished within a tenth of a second from winning the 200 meters, took third in the long jump and ran a pair of legs on the 4×100 and 4×400 relays. All told, Hill was responsible for one-third of NGU’s 145 points at the meet (Hill also registered seven PRs over the course of competition).
This marks the first time in program history that an athlete from North Greenville has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season.
NCAA DIVISION III MEN – Yakob Ekoue, UW-Eau Claire
Senior | Throws | Hopkins, Minnesota
Discus. Hammer. Shot.
Yakob Ekoue threw them this past weekend at the Drake Relays.
However, it’s Ekoue’s 60.25m (197-8) howitzer with the disc that drew the most attention. The UW-Eau Claire standout soared to No. 3 on the NCAA DIII all-time chart with the division’s best throw since 2013 (Carter Comito of Whitworth took down a 30-year-old NCAA DIII record then).
Two throws later, Ekoue launched the platter 59.55m (195-4) for the ninth farthest mark in the division annals. That was one of four 58m+ efforts on the day by the reigning NCAA champion.
This is the second time this season that a male thrower from UW-Eau Claire has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week. Ekoue joins teammate Adam Strouf in that regard.
NCAA DIVISION III WOMEN – Johns Hopkins 4×800
Let’s do some math.
Add 2:13.00, 2:12.25, 2:14.92, and 2:08.78 together.
What does that give you?
An NCAA DIII record in the 4×800 relay.
The Johns Hopkins quartet of Emma Kothari, Harrinee Senthilkumar, Mackenzie Setton, and Annie Huang got the baton around in 8:48.94 this past weekend at the Penn Relays to shatter a 16-year-old division record. The Blue Jays hung tough against NCAA DI competition, finishing a clear fourth in the College Women’s 4×800 Relay.
This is the fourth time in program history that a female athlete from Johns Hopkins has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season. The 4×800 relay joins two-time honoree Victoria Kadiri and Frances Loeb in that regard.
NAIA MEN – Zach Turner, Doane (Neb.)
Senior | Hurdles | Crete, Nebraska
Zach Turner competed in three different hurdle events at the Drake Relays and came away with a pair of school records and twice strengthened his position at the top of the NAIA qualifying lists.
Both of his improvements in leading the NAIA came on Friday – first as he clocked a wind-aided 13.66 in the 110-meter hurdle prelims before a school record 50.81 to win the 400-meter version in moving to No. 2 all-time among NAIA athletes.
On Saturday he anchored the Tiger’s shuttle hurdle relay to a 58.32 – the fastest known NAIA performance in history – before taking third place in the final of the 110H in 13.84 (-2.1).
His fastest 110H time this doesn’t appear on the NAIA qualifying list, as his 13.49 in March came with a 7.6 m/s wind that’s above the 4.0 limit for national qualifying. It’s also the fastest known time by an NAIA athlete under all conditions.
This is the second time this season that Turner has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week.
NAIA WOMEN – Salieci Myles, William Carey (Miss.)
Senior | Hurdles/Sprints | Westmoreland, Jamaica
The 100-meter hurdles final at the Southern States Conference Championships wasn’t to be missed.
Former NAIA record holder Salieci Myles (13.28 in 2023) was set to face current record hold Briana Campbell of Life (Ga.), who had run 13.23 two weeks ago. Myles got the victory – and the record back – with a 13.22 that edged Campbell’s 13.23.
It wasn’t the only event of the meet for Myles, who contributed 20.5 points to William Carey’s winning point total of 232. She added a runner-up finish in the 400 hurdles (63.45) and ran the third leg on the Crusaders’ winning 4×100 team that clocked an NAIA-leading time of 44.99.
This is the third time that a female athlete from William Carey has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season as Myles has twice earned the honor (once each in 2023 and 2024).
NJCAA DIVISION I MEN – Mohamed Dahmouch, Iowa Central CC
Freshman | Mid-Distances | Sale, Morocco
Two races at the Drake Relays saw Mohamed Dahmoud move up twice on the NJCAA all-time outdoor lists.
First up was Friday evening’s University/College Division 1500 meters, in which Dahmouch was the lone NJCAA entrant. He ran his fastest yet to finish second in 3:45.96, which puts him No. 12 on the all-time NJCAA list.
Dahmouch (with a 4:09.41 split on the anchor 1600) and three of his Triton teammates went even higher the next morning in the College Division DMR with a 9:51.44 runner-up finish to rate No. 3 all-time in NJCAA outdoor history.
This is the seventh time that a male athlete from Iowa Central CC has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season. Dahmouch joins Travis Petersen (2018), Sterling Mungro (2017), Brian Williams (2016), Jah-Nhai Perinchief (twice in 2016) and Jean Soutein (2015) in that regard.
Co-NJCAA DIVISION I WOMEN – Cedricka Williams, Barton (Kan.) CC
Sophomore | Throws | Ocho Rios, Jamaica
A new discus PR means a new NJCAA record for Cedricka Williams, and that’s just what happened at the Rock Chalk Classic on Saturday at Lawrence, Kansas.
Her big throw came in Round 4 as the she whirled the discus out to 59.89m (196-6) to add more than a foot to the 59.46m (195-1) she set last week at the Michael Johnson Invitational.
It’s the sixth time – third this year – that Williams has set or tied the NJCAA record in the discus.
This is the 13th time that a female athlete from Barton CC has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season. Williams was honored last week and three times last year in joining Jazmine Williamson (2024), Kelsie Murrell-Ross (2022), Nia Robinson (2021 and 2022), Lashanna Grahm (2021), Yoveinny Mota (twice in 2019) and Lydia Mato (2015) in that regard.
co-NJCAA DIVISION I WOMEN – Iowa Western CC DMR
The fastest NJCAA distance medley relay team indoors is now the fastest outdoors after Iowa Western CC won the Drake Relays College Division in 11:53.10.
That time gave them the title by 6.97 seconds and also took off 0.79 seconds off the previous outdoor NJCAA record of 11:53.89 set in 2018 by rival Iowa Central CC.
The lineup consisted of Hafssa Boutrich of Marrakech, Morocco (3:34.72 for 1200 meters), freshman Alyssa Kulesa of Treynor, Iowa (61.70 for 400), sophomore Angeline Pondler Estrada of San Jose, Costa Rica (2:12.93 for 800) and freshman Juliana Sakat of Greater Accra Region, Ghana (5:03.76 for 1600).
All but Kulesa were on the Reiver foursome that ran the fastest-ever indoor NJCAA time of 11:46.20 on an oversized track in February.
This is the fourth time that female athletes from Iowa Western CC have been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season. The DMR team joins Sakat (earlier this year), Miracle Ailes (2022) and Hilda Olemomoi (nee Chebet) (2022) in that regard.
NJCAA DIVISION III MEN – Nathan Ciarlette, Joliet (Ill.) JC
Freshman | Mid-Distances | Joliet, Illinois
Nathan Ciarlette doesn’t just trim the NJCAA DIII all-time best – he takes off sizable chunks.
He did it again on Friday at the Elmhurst Twilight, finishing fourth against athletes from four-year programs in 3:52.04. That chopped 2.59 seconds off the previous best of 3:54.63 that he set two weeks earlier that was 1.69 seconds better than the record of 3:56.32 that had stood since 2013.
The next day Ciarlette worked on his speed, clocking a 53.04 PR in the 400 at the Olivet Nazarene Open before leading off Joliet JC’s 4×400 “B” team that finished fifth in 3:43.71.
This is the fourth time that an athlete from Joliet JC has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season. Ciarlette himself was honored twice earlier this year and Alex Johnson was honored last week.
NJCAA DIVISION III WOMEN – Fatumata Kaba, Delaware County (Pa.)
Freshman | Jumps | Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania
Fatumata Kaba had PRs in three events at the Miller Sports Construction Blue Jay Tune-Up in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.
But only one of those put her in select territory among NJCAA DIII athletes, as her best triple jump of 11.30m (37-1) made her just the third known DIII female to surpass 37 feet in the event. One of the others also hailed from Delaware County as Kaba actually tied for a share of the Phantom school record set in 2019 by Taneira Bowman.
Only the 11.33m (37-2¼) by Serena Prince of Prince George’s (Md.) CC in 2013 is known to be further all-time among NJCAA DIII athletes. Kaba’s other PRs in the meet were in the long jump (5.28m/17-4) and 100 (13.20).
This is the third time that an athlete from Delaware County has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season. Kaba joins Bowman (twice in 2019) in that regard.