M-F Athletic National Athletes of the Week (March 21)
NEW ORLEANS — Welcome to the outdoor season!
Here are the M-F Athletic National Athletes of the Week for March 21, 2023.
- NCAA Division I Men – Jordan Geist, Arizona
- NCAA Division I Women – Sanaa Hebron, Miami (Fla.)
- NCAA Division II Men – Dejan Mileusnic, Fresno Pacific
- NCAA Division II Women – Marie-Jeanne Ourega, Academy of Art
- NCAA Division III Men – Cheickna Traore, Ramapo
- NCAA Division III Women – Corrine Weaver, Meredith
- NAIA Men – Saminu Abdul-Rasheed, Florida Memorial
- NAIA Women – Eryn Burke, Vanguard (Calf.)
- NJCAA Men – Jaivon Harrison, Bryant & Stratton (Wis.)
- NJCAA Women – Grace Obour, Western Texas
- NJCAA DIII Men – Chris Guerrieri, RCSJ Gloucester (N.J.)
- NJCAA DIII Women – Na’Shae Early, Howard (Md.) 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 – Jordan Geist, Arizona
Senior | Throws
Saxonburg, Pennsylvania
Jordan Geist was a two-time First-Team All-American at the 2021 NCAA DI Indoor Track & Field Championships when he finished third in the shot put and eighth in the hammer.
If Geist keeps throwing the hammer like he did this past weekend at the Island Relays in the Bahamas, chances are he’ll do it again in 2023.
Geist, who recently won the shot put at the 2023 NCAA DI Indoor Track & Field Championships, set a PR in the hammer of 73.94m (242-7) on his third attempt. That was one of three throws of 70.00m (229-8) or farther that Geist landed in the sector.
This is the second time that Geist has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season. He previously earned the honor four years ago on April 9, 2019.
NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN – Sanaa Hebron, Miami (Fla.)
Freshman | Sprints
Newtown, Pennsylvania
Sanaa Hebron had a dynamic outdoor debut this past weekend.
Competing at the Hurricane Invitational, Hebron clocked a collegiate-leading 56.47 in the 400-meter hurdles. Hebron left the rest of the field in the dust, winning by more than one second.
If Hebron turned in that mark last year, she would have been tied for 13th on the year-end All-College Descending Order List. Better yet, if Hebron ran that in the final of the 2022 NCAA DI Outdoor Track & Field Championships, she would have placed sixth as the only freshman.
This is the first time in program history that an athlete from Miami (Fla.) has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season.
NCAA DIVISION II MEN – Dejan Mileusnic, Fresno Pacific
Sophomore | Throws
Zenica, Bosnia
Dejan Mileusnic launched himself into NCAA DII history this past weekend.
Competing at the Cardinal Classic, Mileusnic threw the javelin 72.64m (238-4) to become the No. 11 performer in NCAA DII history. He also hit a legal mark of 72.61m (238-2) in the series.
This is the first time in program history that a male athlete from Fresno Pacific has been named M-F- Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season.
NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN – Marie-Jeanne Ourega, Academy of Art
Sophomore | Jumps
L’Hay-les-Roses, France
Marie-Jeanne Ourega picked up where she left off.
One week after winning the long jump at the 2023 NCAA DII Indoor Track & Field Championships in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Ourega ascended the Descending Order List in both horizontal jumps. Ourega soared a wind-legal 6.25m (20-6¼) in the long jump and a wind-legal 12.26m (40-2¾) in the triple jump.
This is the third year in a row that Ourega has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season. Ourega took home honors in both 2021 and 2022.
NCAA DIVISION III MEN – Cheickna Traore, Ramapo
Senior | Sprints
Jersey City, New Jersey
Cheickna Traore and NCAA DIII records.
Name a better duo. We’ll wait.
One week after shattering the NCAA DIII record in the indoor 200 meters, Traore took down the outdoor version. Competing at the Hurricane Invitational, Traore blasted a collegiate-leading 20.49 (+1.8) to smash the previous divisional best of 20.55 set last year by JP Vaught of Centre.
Traore now has three of the top-8 fastest marks in NCAA DIII history: his record of 20.49 and two efforts that tie for No. 6 at 20.73.
This is the first time that an athlete from Ramapo has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season.
NCAA DIVISION III WOMEN – Corrine Weaver, Meredith
Senior | Mid-Distance
Sanford, North Carolina
Corrine Weaver is taking down every PR this year.
After setting bests in the 400 meters, mile, 3000 meters and 5000 meters indoors, Weaver turned her attention to the steeplechase. Weaver clocked an NCAA DIII-leading 10.51.62 at the UNCW Seahawk Invitational two weeks ago, which was more than 40 seconds faster than her previous personal best from the VertKlasse Meeting last year.
This is the first time in program history that an athlete from Meredith has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season.
NAIA MEN – Saminu Abdul-Rasheed, Florida Memorial
Sophomore | Sprints
Ghana
No collegian from any division could match Saminu Abdul-Rasheed at the Hurricane Invitational, where he clocked a wind-aided 10.11 (+2.6mps) to win his section with nation’s fastest time of the year by a collegian under all conditions.
Abdul-Rasheed showed plenty of sprint power at the NAIA Indoor Championships earlier this month, clocking 6.63 to win over Donte Sol of Multnomah (Ore.), who earlier registered 6.61 to equal the fastest-known mark in NAIA history. Abdul-Rasheed’s 6.63 makes him =No. 4 on that list.
He is the first athlete from Florida Memorial to earn M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week honors in outdoor track & field.
NAIA WOMEN – Eryn Burke, Vanguard (Calif.)
Sophomore | Sprints
Yucaipa, California
Eryn Burke bolted to the NAIA lead in two events at the Ross and Sharon Irwin Collegiate Invitational.
First up was the 400 meters, where Burke sped a lap of the Point Loma Nazarene track in an outdoor PR 55.43, which leads the NAIA by over a second. Some two hours later, she clocked a near-PR 24.49 in the 200. Burke was a finalist at the NAIA Indoor Championships, taking fifth in the 400 after a 55.05 time in the prelims.
She is the first athlete from Vanguard to be named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week in outdoor track & field.
NJCAA DIVISION I MEN – Jaivon Harrison, Bryant & Stratton (Wis.)
Sophomore | Jumps
Shaker Heights, Ohio
Jaivon Harrison nearly matched his outdoor personal best in winning the Alan Connie Shamrock Invitational high jump with a clearance of 2.17m (7-1½).
The mark was the second-highest of the week across all divisions. It was also Harrison’s absolute best of 2023 and was just a centimeter short of his outdoor PR 2.18m (7-1¾) he achieved in winning the 2021 NJCAA Outdoor Championships. Harrison was runner-up at last year’s outdoor nationals as well as the indoor nationals earlier this month.
This is the first M-F National Athlete of the Week award for any athlete from Bryant & Stratton (Wis.) in outdoor track & field. Harrison previously earned this honor indoors in December 2021, the only time an athlete from the program has been previously distinguished.
NJCAA DIVISION I WOMEN – Grace Obour, Western Texas
Freshman | Sprints
Ghana
Grace Obour opened up her outdoor season victoriously at the Wes Kittley Invitational, clocking a wind-aided 23.80 to win the 200 meters. She returned to anchor the Westerners’ 4×400 squad to a second-place effort in the 4×400 relay in 3:49.85.
Obour has only run the 200 faster one time – 23.76 back in 2019 at the All-African Games, where she earned bronze in the 400 at 51.86.
She is the third female athlete from Western Texas – and first since 2018 – to be named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week in outdoor track & field.
NJCAA DIVISION III MEN – Chris Guerrieri, RCSJ Gloucester (N.J.)
Sophomore | Throws
Cherry Hill, New Jersey
Chris Guerrieri put his throwing talents on full display at the Lloyd Sigler Spring Meet two weeks ago.
Guerrieri – runner-up in last year’s NJCAA Division III shot put – notched a PR of 15.24m (50-0) in claiming this year’s national lead. He also took the national lead in the discus throw at 38.22m (125-5) and rates No. 3 in the hammer throw at 30.25m (99-3). Last year, Guerrieri placed top-5 in all three events, adding a third in the discus and fifth in the hammer.
He is the seventh male athlete from Rowan College South Jersey to be named M-F National Athlete of the week in outdoor track & field.
NJCAA DIVISION III WOMEN – Na’Shae Early, Howard (Md.) CC
Sophomore | Throws
Baltimore, Maryland
If there was a throwing event, Na’Shae Early was in it at the UNC-Wilmington Seahawk Invitational two weeks ago.
Early took the NJCAA Division III national lead in three of them and rates No. 2 in the fourth event. The reigning national champion in the discus throw nabbed one in her specialty at 34.91m (114-7) and added two more in the shot put at 9.72m (31-10¾) and hammer throw at 33.49m (109-11). In the javelin throw, she rates No. 2 nationally at 21.82m (71-7¼).
She is the fifth female athlete from Howard to earn M-F National Athlete of the Week honors in outdoor track & field.