NCAA & NJCAA XC National Athletes of the Week (October 24)

NEW ORLEANS — The regular seasons in NCAA and NJCAA Cross Country are about to draw to a close.

This past weekend conference championships were held in NCAA Division II. This weekend belongs to NCAA Division I and NCAA Division III.

This past weekend also belonged to these 10 athletes who were named National Athletes of the Week by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Monday.

The male honorees: Syracuse’s Adam Palamar (NCAA Division I), Tiffin’s James Ngandu (NCAA Division II), Hamilton’s Jack Pierce (NCAA Division III), Cloud County CC’s Moses Dirane (NJCAA Division I) and Georgia Military College’s Adam Dougherty (NJCAA Division III).

The female honorees: Illinois State’s Ariel Michalek (NCAA Division I), Minnesota-Duluth’s Emi Trost (NCAA Division II), Utica’s Kaitlyn Stinson (NCAA Division III), Iowa Western CC’s Shanieke Watson (NJCAA Division I) and Howard CC’s Abbey Starks (NJCAA Division III).

Find out more about each of these runners by clicking their names or scrolling below.

National Athlete of the Week is an award selected and presented by the USTFCCCA Communications Staff at the beginning of each week to six collegiate cross country athletes (male and female for each of the three NCAA divisions).

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.

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 — Adam Palamar, Syracuse

Senior | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

On a weekend where teams rested up for the upcoming conference championships, Syracuse’s Adam Palamar picked up the pace at the John Reif Memorial.

Palamar ran his third XC race of the season and won by nearly four seconds over an unattached Joe Dragon. The Syracuse senior finished the 5K course in 15:02.4.

We could see some big things out of Palamar in the future as he made NCAAs both indoor and outdoor last year. Indoors, he finished 8th in the mile and outdoors, he finished 12th in the 1500.

NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN — Ariel Michalek, Illinois State

Senior | Aurora, Illinois

With one week remaining until the Missouri Valley Championships, Illinois State’s Ariel Michalek got a good tune-up at the Illini Open this past weekend.

Michalek, a senior who has finished as high as 27th at an NCAA Regional Championship, took the win in the women’s 4.965K race. She beat a field of 59 other runners from DI programs such as Bradley, Northwestern and Illinois, among others. Her final time was 18:01.3, a full 12 seconds ahead of the runner-up.

NCAA DIVISION II MEN — James Ngandu, Tiffin

Senior | Nairobi, Kenya

In three races this fall, no one has been able to top Tiffin’s James Ngandu — a streak that applies to seven of his last eight cross country races dating back to the start of last season. His most recent win is by far his most impressive, though, as the senior won his second consecutive GLIAC individual crown.

Ngandu beat Grand Valley State’s Zach Panning — last year’s fifth-place NCAA Championships finisher — to the finish line in Big Rapids, Michigan, by 16 seconds. He crossed the tape in 24:14.6 on the 8K course.

Ngandu didn’t compete in the NCAA postseason last fall, but has shown himself to be a national contender on the track. Outdoors, he finished third nationally at 10,000 meters, while he was the indoor 3000-meter runner-up and was fifth at 5000 meters.

NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN — Emi Trost, Minnesota Duluth

Junior | Goodhue, Minnesota

Twice this year, Trost has finished runner-up to reigning national champion Alexis Zeis of U-Mary; twice, Zeis has earned National Athlete of the Week honors.

The tables were turned at the NSIC Championships this weekend.

It was Trost who came through as the conference champ, crossing the line on the 6K course in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in 19:51.4 — three seconds clear of Zeis. This now marks the second National Athlete of the Week honor for Trost, who also won the Lewis Conference Crossover earlier this month.

NCAA DIVISION III MEN — Jack Pierce, Hamilton

Senior | New Gloucester, Maine

With the NYSCTC Championships less than one week away, Hamilton’s Jack Pierce made sure his competition wouldn’t forget his name in the interim.

Pierce won the Hamilton College Tune-Up this past weekend by 15 seconds. He crossed the finish line in 16:14.1, well ahead of runner-up Erik Winberg of Utica.

This was the first collegiate XC win of Pierce’s career and he’ll look to improve on a 69th-place finish at NCAAs last year.

NCAA DIVISION III WOMEN — Kaitlyn Stinson, Utica

Sophomore | South Kortright, New York

Take one look at Kaitlyn Stinson’s running resume and you wouldn’t consider her to be a cross country runner. In fact, she’s much more of a hurdler for Utica.

Well, Stinson bucked the narrative this past weekend at the Hamilton College Tune-Up.

Stinson cruised to her first collegiate XC win over 65 other runners. She finished the 4K race in 16:06.7, nearly seven seconds clear of teammate Makenna Colley (2nd place).

Stinson’s next race will be at the NYSCTC Championships this weekend.

NJCAA DIVISION I MEN — Moses Dirane, Cloud County CC

Freshman | Pretoria, South Africa

If Cloud County CC’s Moses Dirane isn’t a favorite to win the NJCAA Division I XC title come November, he better be among them.

This past weekend at the Ollie Isom Cross Country Invitational, Dirane continued his strong season with a 27-second win over Gillette’s Erick Rotich. Dirane crossed the finish line in 26:31.0 and helped the Thunderbirds to a third place team finish.

NJCAA DIVISION I WOMEN — Shanieke Watson, Iowa Western CC

Sophomore | Manchester, Jamaica

A near 17-second win gave Iowa Western’s Shanieke Watson a victory at the Ollie Isom Cross Country Invitational and a National Athlete of the Week nod.

Watson cruised to the win over the 97-woman field in El Dorado, Kansas, the same city in which the NJCAA Division I XC Championships will be held next month.

NJCAA DIVISION III MEN — Adam Dougherty, Georgia Military College

Sophomore | Gainesville, Florida

There’s no rivalry quite like a sibling rivalry — especially when the siblings are twins. Adam Dougherty edged out his twin brother, John, at the line at the GCAA Championships to win the individual title. Adam crossed the line on the 8K course in 27:26.1, just 3 ahead of John.

The two were more than a minute ahead of the rest of the field.

NJCAA DIVISION III WOMEN — Abbey Starks, Howard CC (Md.)

Freshman | Marriottsville, Maryland

For the second time this season, Abbey Starks has been named the National Athlete of the Week. This most recent award comes after Starks topped the field at the NJCAA Region 20 Championships, including the NJCAA schools in attendance.

She ran 21:11.9 on the 6K course, well clear of the runner-up in 21:50.1. The win also netted her the individual title in the Maryland JUCO division of the race.