Award History
NJCAA DI XC Regional Awards2020 NJCAA Division I Cross Country Regional Awards
Men’s Athlete of the Year
ATLANTIC REGION — Kelvin Bungei — Iowa Central CC
Bungei, a freshman from Kitale, Kenya, won the individual title at the Region XI Championships in 25:12.8. He also won individual titles at the Grand View XC Open, Viking Classic and the Morningside Invitational.
CENTRAL REGION — Awet Beraki — Cloud County (Kan.) CC
Beraki, a sophomore from Colorado Springs, Colorado, won the individual title at the Region VI Championships in 24:24.6. He beat the closest NJCAA DI finisher by 29 seconds over the 8K course.
WEST REGION — Micah Stanton — Trinidad State (Colo.) JC
Stanton, a sophomore from Flagstaff, Arizona, won the individual title at the Region IX Championships in 26:26, which was contested at 7544 feet of altitude. He also placed fourth at the WT Buffalo Stampede earlier in the season as the top NJCAA finisher.
Men’s Coach of the Year
ATLANTIC REGION — Dee Brown — Iowa Central CC
Brown, in his 17th year as head coach, led his Tritons to the team title at the NJCAA DI Region XI Championships with 25 points. Iowa Central – currently ranked No. 1 in NJCAA Division I – placed second at the NAIA Seminole Valley Stampede against highly ranked NAIA programs. Brown also coached Kelvin Bungei to the individual crown at the Region XI Championships.
CENTRAL REGION — Drew Mahin — Cloud County (Kan.) CC
Mahin, in his eighth year at Cloud County, led his T-Birds to the NJCAA DI Region VI team title with 57 points. Under Mahin, Awet Beraki won the individual crown at the Region VI Championships, while Habtamu Geta earned National Athlete of the Week honors twice during the cross country season.
WEST REGION — Lauren Masterson — Trinidad State (Colo.) JC
Masterson, in her fifth season as head coach, led her Trojan’s to their third consecutive team title at the NJCAA Region IX Championships with 17 points. Her athletes finished 1-2-3-6-7, with Micah Stanton winning the individual title. The Trojans also finished third at the WT Buffalo Stampede.
Women’s Athlete of the Year
ATLANTIC REGION — Faith Linga — Iowa Western CC
Linga, a sophomore from Nairobi, Kenya, won the individual title at the Region XI Championships in 17:32. She is undefeated this fall with victories also coming at the Morningside Open, Briar Cliff Invitational as well as the Indian Hills CC Invitational.
CENTRAL REGION — Patricia Koma — Cloud County (Kan.) CC
Koma, a sophomore from Wichita, Kansas, won the NJCAA DI Region VI title, covering the 5K course in 18:11.3. She has not finished lower than third all season along and posted wins at the Ollie Isom Invitational and Tabor Cottonwood Challenge.
WEST REGION — Sharon Jesang — Trinidad State (Colo.) JC
Jesang, a freshman from Eldoret, Kenya, won the individual title at the Region IX Championships in 19:46. She finished 46 seconds faster than the next closest NJCAA competitor. Jesang also placed ninth at the WT Buffalo Stampede as the top NJCAA finisher in the race.
Women’s Coach of the Year
ATLANTIC REGION — Dee Brown — Iowa Central CC
Brown, in his 17th season at Iowa Central CC, led his top-ranked Tritons to a NJCAA DI Region XI title with 21 points. He coached National Athlete of the Week honoree Eleonora Curtabbi, who earned the honor on October 13, following her second-place finish at the NAIA Seminole Valley Stampede.
CENTRAL REGION — Drew Mahin — Cloud County (Kan.) CC
Mahin, in his eighth year as head coach, saw his T-Birds reach new heights in the USTFCCCA National Coaches’ Poll with a program-best No. 2. The T-Birds won the NJCAA DI Region VI team title for the first time in program history with 29 points. Not only did Mahin coach five women under 19:39, his entire scoring contingent finished in the top-9 while averaging 19:11.
WEST REGION — Lindsey Anderson — Southern Idaho
Anderson, in her fourth year at Southern Idaho, has her Golden Eagles ranked No. 5 heading into the NJCAA Division I Championships. Anderson coached Maura Williams to National Athlete of the Week honors on October 27.