M-F Athletic National Athletes of the Week (March 28)
NEW ORLEANS – The outdoor season is rolling along.
Here are our M-F Athletic National Athletes of the Week for March 28, 2023!
- NCAA Division I Men – Matthew Wilkinson, Minnesota
- NCAA Division I Women – Allie Hays, NC State
- NCAA Division II Men – Oussama El Bouchayby, Angelo State
- NCAA Division II Women – Alexis Brown, Lenoir-Rhyne
- NCAA Division III Men – Matthew Kearney, MIT
- NCAA Division III Women – Ana Tucker, Hope
- NAIA Men – Caleb Pouliot, The Master’s (Calif.)
- NAIA Women – Rachel Mortimer, British Columbia
- NJCAA Men – Tapiwanashe Makarawu, New Mexico JC
- NJCAA Women – Anisha Gibbons, New Mexico JC
- NJCAA DIII Men – Charles Benichoux, Hudson Valley (N.Y.) CC
- NJCAA DIII Women – Laine Cottrell, Mineral Area (Mo.) CC
Find out more about each of these athletes by 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 14 collegiate cross country athletes, when applicable (male and female for each of the three NCAA divisions, the NAIA 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 – Matthew Wilkinson, Carleton
Grad Student | Greenwood, Minnesota | Distance
Matthew Wilkinson isn’t a stranger to steeplechase success.
You don’t have to look too far back to see that: Wilkinson finished eighth at the NCAA DI Outdoor Championships last year in PR 8:25.03. The year before that, Wilkinson cemented himself in NCAA DIII history when he set a divisional record of 8:47.39 as part of a historic double where he won the steeplechase and the 5000 meters at the NCAA meet.
Now, Wilkinson is faster than he’s ever been at this point of the season.
Wilkinson took top collegiate honors this past weekend at the Raleigh Relays when he stopped the clock at 8:29.35, more than ten seconds quicker than he ran at that meet last year. Looking deeper, Wilkinson would have ended the regular season as the collegiate leader in the event in both 2019 and 2021, as well as third on the year-end chart in 2022 – with a mark from March.
His performance also helped Minnesota to the No. 1 spot in the debut edition of the NCAA DI Men’s Outdoor Track & Field National Rating Index (TFRI). In fact, it’s the first time in program history that the Golden Gophers headlined the National TFRI at any point of the season.
Wilkinson is the first Minnesota athlete to be named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season. He is actually just the second male athlete from the Big Ten honored in the nine-year history of the award.
NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN – Allie Hays, NC State
Grad Student | Wading River, New York | Distance
School record? Check.
Meet record? Check.
Facility record? Check.
Allie Hays put in work this past weekend at the Raleigh Relays.
Hays turned 10,000 meters in 32:21.13 to win the invitational section by more than seven seconds. Thirteen of the 15 fastest marks on the fledgling All-College Descending Order List were registered during that race. Plus, if Hays ran this mark last year, she’d would have been at the top of the Descending Order List – whereas the best mark from March last year was 40th.
This is the first time in program history that an athlete from NC State has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season.
NCAA DIVISION II MEN – Oussama El Bouchayby, Angelo State
Freshman | Marrakesh, Morocco | Mid-Distance
Oussama El Bouchayby picked up where he left off.
Just two weeks after setting the NCAA DII indoor 800-meter record in a winning effort at the NCAA DII Indoor Championships, El Bouchayby cracked the all-time outdoor chart. He turned two laps at the TTU Masked Rider in 1:46.86 to move up to No. 7 in divisional history and come within an eyelash of his outright PR of 1:46.78, which he clocked in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
This is the fifth time in the past six years that a male athlete from Angelo State has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week. Decio Andrade earned three career national honors between 2019 and 2021, while Nils Fischer did the same between 2017 and 2018.
NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN – Alexis Brown, Lenoir-Rhyne
Freshman | Mableton, Georgia | Sprints
It’s hard to remember that Alexis Brown is only a freshman.
Brown first made headlines two weeks ago when she shattered the NCAA DII indoor record in the 200 meters with her 23.26 winner at the NCAA DII Indoor Championships in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Now, Brown shot to the top of the NCAA DII seasonal chart outdoors in both the 100 meters and 200 meters with 11.41 (+0.8) and 23.72 (-1.0) efforts at the Raleigh Relays.
This is the first time in program history that an athlete from Lenoir-Rhyne has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season.
NCAA DIVISION III MEN – Matthew Kearney, MIT
Senior | Austin, Texas | Distance
Matthew Kearney left his name all over the NCAA DIII all-time chart indoors.
Now, Kearney turns his attention outdoors and is already off to a history-making start.
Kearney, who notched a pair of all-time marks indoors in the 3000 meters (No. 5) and 5000 meters (No. 8), staked his first historical performance outdoors this past weekend at the Raleigh Relays. He became the seventh-fastest performer in NCAA DIII history in the 10,000 meters with his 29:13.69 PR, which was also the third-fastest mark in the annals since 2016.
This is the first time since 2016 that a male athlete from MIT has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season. Arinze Okeke earned national honors seven years ago on March 29 following a pair of dynamic horizontal jumps.
NCAA DIVISION III WOMEN – Ana Tucker, Hope
Senior | Midland, Michigan | Distance
Ana Tucker has virtually lapped the nation twice.
Tucker, who finished second in the mile and fourth in the 3000 meters at the NCAA DIII Indoor Championships earlier this month, made her outdoor debut in a big way. The Hope standout hit a 10,000-meter PR of 34:24.97 at the Raleigh Relays to crack the divisional all-time top-20.
Not only that, but Tucker leads the Descending Order List by nearly two minutes, 17 seconds. That’s not a typo. Tucker’s margin would rank 12th on the 800-meter list right now.
This is the first time in program history that an athlete from Hope has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season.
NAIA MEN – Caleb Pouliot, The Master’s (Calif.)
Sophomore | Clovis, California | Pole Vault
Victory first, then a new PR.
Actually, make that two new PRs for Caleb Pouliot at the Westmont Classic. After winning the competition at 5.10m (16-8¾) – tying his then-personal best – Pouliot kept on going up.
Pouliot made first-attempt clearances at 5.15m (16-10¾) and 5.20m (17-0¾), raising his PR both times in extending his NAIA seasonal best. He won the event at the NAIA Indoor Championships earlier this month and finished second in last year’s NAIA Outdoor Championships.
Pouliot is the first athlete from The Master’s to earn M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season.
NAIA WOMEN – Rachel Mortimer, British Columbia
Sophomore | Abbotsford, British Columbia | Mid-Distance
Rachel Mortimer crossed the finish line first in two events on her home track at the UBC Open.
On Saturday, she knocked 13 seconds off her PR to win the 1500 meters in 4:21.41, which leads the NAIA by more than eight seconds. She returned Sunday to carry the baton for the Thunderbirds in the 4×800 relay as UBC won by nearly a minute in 9:15.27, which rates No. 2 on the NAIA yearly list.
She is the first athlete from British Columbia to be named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season.
NJCAA DIVISION I MEN – Tapiwanashe Makarawu, New Mexico JC
Freshman | Harare, Zimbabwe | Sprints
If Tapiwanashe Makarawu takes too long to say, try using his nickname “Carlie.”
Either way, he continues to make reasons to follow him.
In his latest race, Makarawu claimed the yearly all-college lead in the 100 meters, finishing as the top collegian at the Texas Tech Masked Rider Open in 10.07, a time that places him No. 7 on the all-time NJCAA list.
Makarawu needed almost all of that 10.07 as James Dadzie of Western Texas was close behind in 10.11 – though not as close as in the NJCAA Indoor Championships 60 meters, when both clocked 6.63 (Makarawu winning by 0.004 seconds).
Makawaru is the second male athlete from New Mexico JC to earn M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week honors during the outdoor season.
NJCAA DIVISION I WOMEN – Anisha Gibbons, New Mexico JC
Freshman | Mahaicony, Guyana | Throws
Anisha Gibbons made her first javelin throw for New Mexico JC one to remember.
At 51.27m (168-3), her first-round effort at the Texas Tech Masked Rider Open sailed farther than the NJCAA record, which was 50.17m (164-7) set by Deisiane Teixeira of Highland (Kan.) CC in 2021.
Gibbons’ mark – which also bettered her Guyanese record of 45.37m (148-10) – won the competition by more than 7 meters (23 feet).
Gibbons is the sixth female athlete from New Mexico JC to be named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season.
NJCAA DIVISION III MEN – Charles Benichoux, Hudson Valley (N.Y.) CC
Sophomore | Marseilles, France | Sprints
Charles Benichoux started the outdoor season just where he left last year – fastest in the NJCAA Division III.
Benichoux, the reigning national champion in the 100 meters, won that distance in 11.03 at the Wesley Swanson Invitational to take over the national year lead. He won by 0.07 seconds and came back to clock 22.69 for fourth place in the 200 meters.
Benichoux is the first male athlete from Hudson Valley to earn M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week honors during the outdoor season.
NJCAA DIVISION III WOMEN – Laine Cottrell, Mineral Area (Mo.)
Sophomore | Steelville, Missouri | Sprints
New year, same time.
Laine Cottrell took over the NJCAA Division III lead in the 100 meters, clocking 13.29 seconds to finish fifth in her section at the Miner Invitational. That’s the identical time Cottrell ran last year in finishing sixth in the 100 at the NJCAA Division III Outdoor Championships.
Cottrell returns with two other podium finishes from last year’s nationals, finishing second in 400 and as part of the Cardinals’ 4×100 relay team. This year she rates No. 2 in the 200 and No. 4 in the 400 on the national qualifiers list on the basis of her indoor marks of 27.39 and 1:04.16, respectively.
She is the first female athlete from Mineral Area to be named M-F National Athlete of the Week honors during the outdoor season.