Award History
NCAA DIII ITF National Awards2023 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field National Awards
NEW ORLEANS – National Athletes and Coaches of the Year for the 2023 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field season were announced on Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
Member coaches voted on these honors following the conclusion of 2023 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships this past weekend in Birmingham, Alabama, but considered performances throughout the season when voting on these honors.
National Men's Track Athlete of the Year
Cheickna Traore was named the National Men’s Track Athlete of the Year for the 2023 NCAA DIII Indoor Track & Field season. Traore, who hails from Jersey City, New Jersey, made history at the 2023 NCAA DIII Indoor Track & Field Championships this past weekend in Birmingham, Alabama. He set an NCAA DIII record – and a meet record – in the 200 meters when he broke the tape first in 20.72. That came just a few events after he set a seasonal best of 46.85 to win the 400-meter crown and move up to No. 2 in NCAA DIII history in the process. Traore owns three of the top-7 marks in NCAA DIII history in the 200 and two of the top-10 efforts in the 400 from this season alone.
National Women's Track Athlete of the Year
Fiona Smith was named the National Women’s Track Athlete of the Year for the 2023 NCAA DIII Indoor Track & Field season. Smith, who hails from Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, completed the distance double at the 2023 NCAA DIII Indoor Track & Field Championships this past weekend in Birmingham, Alabama. She won the 5000 meters by more than seven seconds on Friday night with a time of 16:33.79 that ranks her fifth in meet history, before returning to the track on Saturday to capture the 3000-meter title in a meet-record 9:25.62. During the regular season, Smith scored 22.5 points at the MIAC Indoor Championships thanks to sweeping the distance events and helping Saint Benedict’s title-winning DMR squad.
National Men's Field Athlete of the Year
Joseph White was named the National Men’s Field Athlete of the Year for the 2023 NCAA DIII Indoor Track & Field season. White, who hails from Kenosha, Wisconsin, left no doubt as to his prowess in the throwing events this year. The Carthage star won both the shot put and weight throw at the 2023 NCAA DIII Indoor Track & Field Championships this past weekend in Birmingham, Alabama. He topped the field in the weight throw by nearly three feet and by more than two feet in the shot put. White shattered the NCAA DIII record in the weight throw back in February with a heave of 21.92m (71-11) and ended the campaign with each of the top-18 marks in the weight throw (and 24 of the top-26, if you want to extend it further).
National Women's Field Athlete of the Year
Victoria Kadiri was named the National Women’s Field Athlete of the Year for the 2023 NCAA DIII Indoor Track & Field season. Kadiri, who hails from Lynn, Massachusetts, soared into the record book at the 2023 NCAA DIII Indoor Track & Field Championships this past weekend in Birmingham, Alabama. She made the most noise in the triple jump, an event in which she won with an NCAA DIII-record mark of 13.18m (43-3). That came one day after she topped the podium in the long jump at 5.93m (19-5½) to equal the seventh-best performer in meet history and finished fifth in the pentathlon. During the regular season, Kadiri swept the horizontal jumps at the Centennial Conference Indoor Championships and set a league record in the triple jump.
National Men's Coach of the Year
Josh Buchholtz was named the National Men’s Coach of the Year for the 2023 NCAA DIII Indoor Track & Field season. Buchholtz, in his 15th year at UW-La Crosse, led the Eagles to the team title at the 2023 NCAA DIII Indoor Track & Field Championships this past weekend in Birmingham, Alabama. UW-La Crosse only had five top-8 finishes at the meet, but made them count with two individual titles and a runner-up effort in another, among other placements (Sam Blaskowski and Ethan Gregg combined for 34 of the team’s 35 points). The Eagles entered the NCAA Championships on a high note, romping to the team title at the WIAC Indoor Championships with 228 points thanks to scoring in every event possible.
National Women's Coach of the Year
Nick Davis was named the National Women’s Coach of the Year for the 2023 NCAA DIII Indoor Track & Field season. Davis, in his sixth year at UW-La Crosse, led the Eagles to the team title at the 2023 NCAA DIII Indoor Track & Field Championships this past weekend in Birmingham, Alabama. UW-La Crosse scored in ten different events at the Birmingham CrossPlex and held off a strong challenge from Washington (Mo.) to seize the crown. The Eagles, who entered the NCAA Championships ranked No. 1 (and held that spot for six consecutive weeks), romped to the team title at the WIAC Indoor Championships, where they amassed a meet-record 324 points. UW-La Crosse scored 15 or more points in 11 different events to win the conference title.
National Men's Assistant Coach of the Year
Riley Macon was named the National Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year for the 2023 NCAA DIII Indoor Track & Field season. Macon, in his third year as assistant coach at MIT, orchestrated an incredible season by the Engineers’ distance corps. His prized pupil Ryan Wilson set a pair of NCAA DIII records this season in the 800 meters (1:46.61) and mile (3:55.29), both times that ranked among the top-16 athletes on the All-College Descending Order List at the end of the regular season. Wilson later set a meet record in the mile at the 2023 NCAA DIII Indoor Track & Field Championships in Birmingham, Alabama, and finished third in the 3000 meters to account for 16 of MIT’s 36.5 points. Macon’s charges topped the #EventSquad Rankings in four events.
National Women's Assistant Coach of the Year
Katie Wagner was named the National Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year for the 2023 NCAA DIII Indoor Track & Field season. Wagner, in her 13th year as assistant coach at UW-La Crosse, coached the Eagles’ sprinters and hurdlers to great heights. Most recently, Wagner’s charges scored 22 combined points at the 2023 NCAA DIII Indoor Track & Field Championships this past weekend in Birmingham, Alabama, which included 14 points from Emma Lawrence, who finished runner-up in the 200 meters and third in the 60-meter hurdles. Lawrence made headlines earlier in the season when she became the second-fastest performer in NCAA DIII history in the 60H at 8.40. During the regular season, Wagner’s athletes amassed 104 of UW-La Crosse’s meet-record 324 points at the WIAC Indoor Championships.