Inaugural NJCAA National Athletes of the Year Announced by USTFCCCA

NEW ORLEANS – Following the 2015 NJCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships this past weekend in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced Tuesday its inaugural class of NJCAA National Athletes of the Year, as voted on by the coaches.

Harry Mulenga and Eldred Henry of Central Arizona took the Men’s Track Athlete of the Year and Field Athlete of the Year honors, respectively. Four-time 2015 champion Lydia Mato of Barton County was named Women’s Track Athlete of the Year, while Tayla Green of Coffeyville earned Women’s Field Athlete of the Year honors.

National Coaches of the Year were also announced Tuesday, with South Plains’ Chris Beene and Blaine Wiley sweeping the awards following their men’s and women’s national team title sweep. More information on those awards can be found here.

Arguably no athlete had a better championship meet than Mato, who won national titles at 1000, 3000, and 5000 meters, as well as in the mile. She opened Friday with a title at 5000 meters in 17:52.10 by more than 20 seconds. She came back about five hours later for the 3000-meter final, which she won in an indoor career-best 10:10.73 (equivalent to a 9:55.69 due to altitude, which is superior to her career PR) to win by nearly 17 seconds.

She had to run around less than an hour later for the 1000-meter prelims, in which she ran a career-best 2:58.45 for the fastest qualifying time by five seconds.

On Saturday, she won the mile in a career-best 5:03.35 by 11 seconds, and came back less than two hours later to win the 1000-meter final in 2:58.42 to win by two seconds and break her career-best from just the day before.

Earlier in the season at the Region VI Championships, she won all of the same events, in addition to a runner-up finish at 800 meters.

Mulenga also turned in a dominant distance performance, winning three individual events in the mile, 3000 and 5000.

The Central Arizona frosh had to fend off stronger challenges from his competitors in each of his races than did Mato. At 5000 meters, he held off four-time All-American Antibahs Kibiwott Kosgey of South Plains by just less than four seconds to win in a season’s best 14:57.44.

Later Friday evening, he would prevail in an even closer race as he won at 3000 meters in a career-best 8:36.47 to defeat Vincennes’ Robert Murphy by less than a second.

He concluded his weekend Saturday with another victory of less than one second, this time in the mile. He ran 4:16.17 to defeat teammate Josh Thompson.

Earlier in the season, he ran a 4:09.91 mile at New Mexico’s Don Kirby Elite that converted down because of altitude to 4:04.

Henry claimed the national men’s shot put title on Friday with a new meet-record heave of 62-7¼ (19.08m) on his third attempt over runner-up Tristan Whitehall of Coffeyville CC at 56-9¼ (17.30m). The frosh also launched a 17.75m mark on his second attempt that was superior to Whitehall’s best.

Though he finished runner-up in the weight throw the following day, that was well above his pre-meet seeding at No. 6. He uncorked a heave of 58-11½ (17.97m) on his second attempt that would survive his four consecutive fouls to close the meet for second-place honors. That mark was more than a meter better than his previous career-best of 55-3¾ (16.86m) set the weekend before.

Earlier in the season, Henry topped the NJCAA shot put record with a mark of 65-7½ (20.00m) at the GCC Indoor Invitational. Only five collegians in the country – NCAA, NJCAA and NAIA – have thrown farther this year.

The women’s National Field Athlete of the Year award also went to a national champion thrower in Greene. The Coffeyville sophomore took the weight throw title with a career-best heave of 58-4¾ (17.80m) to win by 55 centimeters over Central Arizona’s Shalise Borden. She also recorded throws of 17.28m and 17.02m.

Earlier in the indoor season she won the MSSU “Southern” Invitational with a then-career-best heave of 58-1¾ (17.72m) and finished runner-up against top NCAA Division II competition at both the Central Missouri Mule Relays and the Missouri Southern Lion Invitational.