USTFCCCA Awards
Courtesy: Curtis Akey & Tyler Mayforth, USTFCCCA April 10, 2018   

NCAA & NJCAA OTF National Athletes of the Week (April 10)

NEW ORLEANS – Athletes etched their names into record books this past weekend.

We saw a collegiate record fall as well as several division standards.

Here are those athletes who made that possible and were named National Athletes of the Week by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Tuesday.

Find out more about these athletes by clicking their names or scrolling below.

CLICK HERE for a historical listing of National Athletes of the Week in outdoor track & field.

National Athlete of the Week is an award selected and presented by the USTFCCCA Communications Staff at the beginning of each week to eight collegiate indoor track & field athletes (male and female for each of the three NCAA divisions and NJCAA Division I).

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 – Tim Duckworth, Kentucky

Senior | Combined Events
Phoenix, Arizona

Tim Duckworth finally joined the 8000-point club in the decathlon.

Duckworth hit a near 200-point PR in the multi when he tallied 8145 points at the Spec Towns Invitational in Athens, Georgia. That came almost a full year after he PR’d at the same meet.

The 2018 USTFCCCA National Men’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Year started things off with the best time in the 100 (10.40), the best mark in the long jump (8.03m/26-4¼) – which doubles as the second-best mark in the nation – and added another strong effort in the high jump (2.13m/6-11¾) and 110 hurdles (48.92).

Based off past results, the next time we’ll see Duckworth compete in the decathlon will be at either the SEC Championships in May or the NCAA Division I Championships in June.

NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN – Maggie Ewen, Arizona State

Senior | Throws
St. Francis, Minnesota

The collegiate outdoor record book can’t hold Maggie Ewen.

This past weekend at the Sun Angel Classic in Tempe, Arizona, Ewen bettered her own record in the hammer throw and added a top-3 mark in the shot put to boot.

We’ll start with Ewen’s signature event. That’s where Ewen topped her previous best of 73.32m (240-6) three times. She trumped it by a foot on her third attempt and then sent the implement into orbit with a heave of 74.53m (244-6) on her fifth try. Her sixth attempt settled in at 73.89m (242-5) to give her six of the seven best throws in collegiate history.

Ewen also let one fly in the shot put. That’s where Ewen moved up to No. 2 on the all-time collegiate chart behind Raven Saunders. Ewen launched the orb 19.22m (63-0¾) for an all-conditions PR (She won the Don Kirby Elite Invitational indoors with a mark of 19.20m).

The Arizona State senior also soared to the top of the All-College Descending Order List in the discus with an effort of 61.27m (201-0).

NCAA DIVISION II MEN – Nils Fischer, Angelo State

Sophomore | Throws
Germany

No one in the entire nation threw the javelin better than Nils Fischer this past weekend.

The sophomore out of Germany put himself atop the NCAA Division II Descending Order List with an Automatic Qualifying Mark of 74.53m (244-6) at the Angelo State David Noble Relays, the top throw in the country this week. Fischer’s series of throws was just as impressive, as four of his tosses ranked second through fifth on the Top-10 Marks of the Week.

Additionally, Fischer’s throw puts him in the NCAA Division II collegiate outdoor record book with the seventh-best throw of all-time.

NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN – Daisy Osakue, Angelo State

Sophomore | Throws
Turin, Italy

Daisy Osakue made history at the Angelo State David Noble Relays, breaking the NCAA Division II collegiate outdoor record in the discus.

The product from Turin, Italy, notched a throw of 59.72m (195-11), besting the previous record set in 2013 by .85 meters. Her throw also set the facility, meet and Angelo State school-record. Osakue’s day was not done though, as she posted a shot put mark of 15.74m (51-7¾), good for third on the NCAA Division II Descending Order List as an Automatic Qualifying Mark.

Osakue also competed in the hammer throw on the weekend, recording a toss of 45.52m (149-4).

NCAA DIVISION III MEN – Logan McKenzie, Berea

Sophomore | Distance
Athens, Tennessee

Logan McKenzie hit a massive PR in the steeplechase this past weekend.

McKenzie stormed to the top of the NCAA DIII Descending Order List with his time of 9:02.06, which was a 42-second PR. He last ran the steeplechase at the Redhawk Invitational last year.

The sophomore from Athens, Tennessee, is also ranked third nationally in the 5000 at 14:32.27.

NCAA DIVISION III WOMEN – Emily Richards, Ohio Northern

Senior | Mid-Distance
Delaware, Ohio

Emily Richards was back at it this past weekend at the Sun Angel Classic.

Richards, running in the elite section of the 800, bettered her No. 1 mark on the All-College Descending Order List with a time of 2:02.84. That also doubles as the best in-season mark in NCAA DIII history (Richards did run 2:00.62 at the Music City Distance Carnival last year).

NJCAA DIVISION I MEN – Enrique Martinez, Barton County (Kan.) CC

Sophomore | Throws
San Salvador, El Salvador

Enrique Martinez had a solid weekend for his school and his nation.

The sophomore won the hammer throw at the WT Classic & Multi with an NJCAA Division I Descending Order List-leading mark of 61.13m (200-7). His mark was not only one that leads the NJCAA by over 6.00 meters, but one that also broke his own Salvadorian National Record.

NJCAA DIVISION I WOMEN – Abigail Kwarteng, Western Texas College

Sophomore | Jumps
Ghana

Abigail Kwarteng was the only NJCAA Division I women’s athlete to post an NJCAA Division I-leading mark over the weekend.

The sophomore from Ghana tied Jelana Rowe’s season-leading high jump mark of 1.84m (6-0½) at the Angelo State David Noble Relays. Just as impressive as that jump was the fact that she won the event title in a field loaded with the top NCAA Division II talent, including 2017 NCAA Division II outdoor high jump champion Kaitlin Lumpkins.

NJCAA DIVISION III MEN – Gabriel DaSilva, Nassau (N.Y.) CC

Sophomore | Mid-Distance/Hurdles
Albertson, New York

Gabriel DaSilva hit not one, but two NJCAA Division III Descending Order List-leading marks this past weekend at the Wagner Outdoor Invitational. The sophomore from Albertson, New York, notched a 1:58.37 in the 800, winning the event title in a field that featured 42 runners while also winning the 400 hurdles with a time of 56.89.

NJCAA DIVISION III WOMEN – Shantal Rouse, Kingsborough (N.Y.) CC

Sophomore | Sprints
St. Vincent and The Grenadines

Shantal Rouse notched the fastest 400 time in NJCAA Division III this season with a mark of 58.35 at the Gamecock Invitational. Rouse’s time is the first sub-minute mark in the event this year at the NJCAA Division III level. Additionally, her time ranked ninth amongst all NJCAA runners (both NJCAA Division I and NJCAA Division III) this past weekend. She bested NCAA Division I athletes from Georgia State, Liberty, Radford, Charleston Southern, Davidson and the College of Charleston at the meet.