USTFCCCA Awards
By USTFCCCA Communications, USTFCCCA May 11, 2021   

NCAA OTF National Athletes of the Week (May 11)

NEW ORLEANS – National Athletes of the Week for May 11 were announced on Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Here are those individuals who earned national honors from the USTFCCCA for their efforts during the continuing outdoor track & field season.

Find out more about each of these athletes 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 10 collegiate indoor track & field athletes, when applicable (male and female for each of the three NCAA divisions and the NJCAA).

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 – Yared Nuguse, Notre Dame

Senior | Mid-Distance
Louisville, Kentucky

Yared Nuguse and dramatic victories.

Name a better duo. We’ll wait.

Nuguse, who won the 1500 at the 2019 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the closest finish in meet history since FAT was adopted (0.001 seconds), notched another incredible win over the same distance this past weekend at the Oregon Twilight.

A stacked field led to brisk times as Notre Dame’s Nuguse outkicked the Oregon duo of Cooper Teare and Cole Hocker to capture the McChesney 1500 in 3:35.96, just 0.01 seconds ahead of Teare in 3:35.97 and 0.51 seconds in front of Hocker in 3:36.47.

Nuguse and Teare became the seventh and eighth men in collegiate history to go sub-3:36.00 in the event during the collegiate outdoor season.

This marks the first time since at least 2015 that an athlete from Notre Dame has been named National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season.

NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN – Cambrea Sturgis, North Carolina A&T

Sophomore | Sprints
Kannapolis, North Carolina

Cambrea Sturgis did her part in helping North Carolina A&T to a conference title.

Sturgis won the 100, 200 and led off the first-place 4×100 relay at the MEAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships to score 22½ points, as the Aggies rolled to the crown with 290 points.

Entering the meet, Sturgis was ranked seventh nationally in the 200 at 22.86, a mark she turned in at the North Florida Invitational. Well, Sturgis clocked a wind-aided 11.03 (+3.1) in the 100 to move up to No. 3 on the Descending Order List in that event and helped North Carolina A&T to the No. 16 mark among NCAA Division I competition this season in the 4×100.

This is the second time in program history that a female athlete from North Carolina A&T has been named National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season (Kayla White, 2019).

NCAA DIVISION II MEN – Benjamin Azamati, West Texas A&M

Freshman | Sprints
Akim Oda, Ghana

Benjamin Azamati is showing no signs of slowing down.

The freshman from Akim Oda, Ghana, set his second NCAA Division II record of the season, this time in the 200. After clocking 21.12 in the prelims of the Lone Star Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Azamati came back in the finals with a blistering 20.13 to claim the league crown. He broke the old NCAA DII record of 20.15, set by Bryan Bridgewater back in 1992.

It was a memorable LSC Championship for Azamati, as he scored 22 points for the Buffs en route to the team’s first title. Azamati also captured the 100 crown in 10.07 after clocking 10.03 in the prelims. He now owns the three fastest times in NCAA DII history in that event behind his record breaking 9.97 at the Texas Relays. He was also part of the second-place 4×100.

This is the second National Athlete of the Week honor for Azamati this outdoor season.

NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN – Eilish Flanagan, Adams State

Senior | Distance
Gortin, Ireland

Eilish Flanagan made the most of her opportunity at Hayward Field.

The result? A new NCAA Division II record.

The senior from Gortin, Ireland, won the steeplechase at the Oregon Twilight in 9:40.68 by more than 35 seconds over a field of Division I athletes. Her winning time bettered the previous record of 9:47.77 set by Alicja Konieczek in 2018.

Earlier this season, Flanagan became the third-best performer on the all-time chart with her 9:52.70 at the Drake Relays. That is now the seventh-fastest time in the event.

This is the second National Athlete of the Week honor for Flanagan during the outdoor season.

NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN – Cheyenne Williamson, Saginaw Valley State

Freshman | Multis
Essexville, Michigan

Cheyenne Williamson earned her rest.

The freshman from Essexville, Michigan, rose to the challenge at the GLIAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships and walked away with six event crowns, scoring 45 of the team’s 183 points for a runner-up finish.

Williamson kicked off her big weekend with a GLIAC record in the long jump after soaring 6.09m (19-11¾). She came back on the final day of competition to claim individual wins in the 100H (13.94), 200 (24.15) and the high jump (1.73m/5-8), while running a leg on the victorious 4×100 (46.03) and 4×400 (3:45.18).

Her efforts gave her a clean sweep of the GLIAC awards on the women’s side as she was named the Track Athlete of the Meet, Field Athlete of the Meet, High Point Athlete of the Meet and Freshman Track Athlete of the Meet and Freshman Field Athlete of the Meet.

You can find Williamson’s name all over the Descending Order List this season. She is ranked in the heptathlon (No. 1, 5517), 100H (No. 3, 13.66), 100 (No. 4, 11.53), long jump (No. 6, 6.12m/20-1), 4×400 (No. 6, 3:45.18), 4×100 (No. 9, 46.03), high jump (No. 11, 1.73m/5-8) and the 200 (No. 19, 24.15).

This is the first time in program history a female athlete from Saginaw Valley State has been named National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season.

NCAA DIVISION III MEN – Alex Phillip, John Carroll

Freshman | Distance
Akron, Ohio

The best distance racing of the collegiate track & field weekend might have happened at the OAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Tiffin, Ohio. That’s where Alex Phillip of John Carroll and Hunter Moore of Otterbein – two of the fastest athletes at the NCAA Division III level in the 5000 and 10,000 – dueled over 15,000 meters with conference glory on the line.

When the dust settled, less than 1.7 seconds separated the duo in both races. That’s combined.

Phillip crossed the finish line first each time to complete the double, winning the 10,000 on Friday in 29:45.57 thanks to a sub-4:20 last mile and a sub-60 second last lap and then adding the 5000 crown to his haul on Saturday in 14:30.00. Moore was right behind him in both races, taking runner-up honors in the 10K at 29:46.77 and the 5K at 14:30.45.

Both marks for Phillip broke longstanding meet records with the 10K being the oldest at 39 years. He also led several other athletes under the old standards as well.

The OAC should be well-represented at the NCAA DIII Outdoor Championships in just a few weeks, especially in the distance events. Phillip is one of four men currently ranked in the top-7 of the 10K (Phillip sits No. 2) and leads two in the top-7 of the 5K (Phillip sits No. 4).

This is the first time since at least 2015 that an athlete from John Carroll has been named National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season.

NCAA DIVISION III WOMEN – Favor Ezewuzie, Wheaton (Ill.)

Grad Student | Sprints/Hurdles
Malden, Massachusetts

Favor Ezewuzie was up to her old ways this past weekend.

Competing at the CCIW Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Ezewuzie won the 100, 200 and 100H to amass 30 points for Wheaton (Ill.), which finished third in the team standings.

It’s what Ezewuzie did in the 100H that turned heads, though. Ezewuzie won the final in a wind-legal 13.73, sending her to the No. 4 performer in NCAA Division III history and extending her national lead. That was also the best mark by an NCAA Division III athlete since 2015.

This is the second time this season – and third time in her career during the outdoor season – that Ezewuzie has been named National Athlete of the Week.