M-F Athletic National Athletes of the Week (April 4)
NEW ORLEANS – Blink and you’ll miss them.
Here are our M-F Athletic National Athletes of the Week for April 4, 2023!
- NCAA Division I Men – Georgia 4×400 Relay
- NCAA Division I Women – Masai Russell, Kentucky
- NCAA Division II Men – Oussama El Bouchayby, Angelo State
- NCAA Division II Women – Taylor Nelloms, West Texas A&M
- NCAA Division III Men – Alex Phillip, John Carroll
- NCAA Division III Women – Kassie Parker, Loras
- NAIA Men – Dylan Kucera, Midland (Neb.)
- NAIA Women – Praise Idamadudu, Cumberland (Tenn.)
- NJCAA Men – South Plains (Texas) 4×800 Relay
- NJCAA Women – New Mexico JC 4×400 Relay
- NJCAA DIII Men – Jewleus Benner, Thaddeus Stevens (Pa.)
- NJCAA DIII Women – Lilly Alberts, Harper (Ill.)
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 – Georgia 4×400 Relay
Never in collegiate history had three teams broken three minutes in the same Men’s 4×400 Relay. That all changed this past weekend at the Texas Relays.
Georgia, Alabama and UCLA all went under the barrier in the Men’s University section. However, it was the Bulldogs who stopped the clock first at 2:58.82 to move up to No. 2 in collegiate history behind Florida’s 2:58.53 effort last year at the Tom Jones Memorial. The Crimson Tide are now fifth at 2:59.15, while the Bruins sit seventh at 2:59.75.
Elija Godwin and Matthew Boling combined to get the baton around in 1:28.50 through 800 meters, then Caleb Cavanaugh turned one lap in 45.53 to get the stick to Will Sumner on anchor. Sumner dug deep on his 44.80 anchor to pass Chris Robinson of Alabama and Ismail Turner of UCLA in the final 100 meters for a come-from-behind victory.
This is the third year in a row that male athletes from Georgia have been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season. It is only the second time in award history that a relay has earned national honors (Houston on March 19, 2019).
NCAA DIVISION I MEN – Masai Russell, Kentucky
Grad Student | Hurdles | Potomac, Maryland
Masai Russell and breaking a collegiate hurdling record.
Name a better duo. We’ll wait.
Russell, competing at the Texas Relays this past weekend, took down 2013 The Bowerman winner Brianna Rollins’ legendary mark in the 100-meter hurdles when she went 12.36 with a legal 2.0 m/s wind at her back. Rollins went 12.37 eight years ago in her Bowerman year. It was also the fastest wind-legal time in world history this early in the outdoor season.
Indoors, Russell established the former collegiate record in the 60-meter hurdles at 7.75 on January 20. Less than two months later, Ackera Nugent of Arkansas went 7.72 in the prelims of the event at the NCAA DI Indoor Championships. Russell matched her best in the final the next day, which gave her four of the top-6 fastest marks in collegiate history.
Four collegiate records fell at the Texas Relays this past weekend, including three from Texas’ women in the relays alone: 4×100, 4×200 and sprint medley.
This is the second year in a row that a female athlete from Kentucky has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season. Abby Steiner took home two weekly national honors last year on her way to winning The Bowerman.
NCAA DIVISION II MEN – Ousaama El Bouchayby, Angelo State
Freshman | Mid-Distance | Marrakesh, Morocco
Oussama El Bouchayby is on a roll.
Good luck trying to slow him down.
El Bouchayby won the Men’s 800m Invitational at the Texas Relays in a world- and collegiate-leading mark of 1:45.31, which also doubled as a meet record. Not only that, but the Angelo State standout moved up to No. 2 in NCAA DII history – just 0.07 seconds from the 28-year-old all-time divisional best of 1:45.24 set by Savieri Nghidi of Abilene Christian in 1995.
This is the second week in a row that El Bouchayby has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week. He is the first NCAA DII male athlete to earn back-to-back honors since Brett Thompson of Pittsburg State in 2021 (April 6 and April 13).
NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN – Taylor Nelloms, West Texas A&M
Junior | Jumps | Humble, Texas
Taylor Nelloms jumped into the record book.
Nellmons, competing at the Texas Relays this past weekend, recorded a wind-legal triple jump of 13.25m (43-5¾) and soared to No. 4 on the NCAA DII all-time chart. It was also the best wind-legal jump since 2017 and came on her first attempt of the competition.
This is the third time in the past three years that a female athlete from West Texas A&M has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season. Former Lady Buff standout Zada Swoopes took home two national honors back in 2021.
NCAA DIVISION III MEN – Alex Phillip, John Carroll
Sophomore | Distance | Akron, Ohio
No distance records in NCAA DIII are safe when Alex Phillip steps on the track.
Phillip, competing at the Stanford Invitational this past weekend, demoted Dhruvil Patel’s former all-time divisional best in the 5000 meters to second on the historic chart. The John Carroll standout went 13:47.41 while most of those in Eastern Standard Time and Central Standard Time slept. Phillip shaved nearly four seconds of Patel’s former standard of 13:51.40 that he clocked four years ago.
This is the third year in a row that Phillip has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season.
NCAA DIVISION III WOMEN – Kassie Parker, Loras
Grad Student | Distance | Guttenburg, Iowa
Kassie Parker is back.
The record book trembles in fear.
Parker, who didn’t have indoor eligibility, returned to the track this past weekend at the Stanford Invitational and demolished her own NCAA DIII record in the 10,000 meters. The Loras standout turned 25 laps in 32:36.22 to become the first female athlete in NCAA DIII history to go sub-33.
Saying Parker just “demolished” her personal best would be an understatement. Parker lopped more than 35 seconds the 33:03.61 mark that she clocked last year at the same meet.
This is the second year in a row that Parker has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season. Parker was honored last year after her initial record foray.
NAIA MEN – Dylan Kucera, Midland (Neb.)
Senior | Fremont, Nebraska | Throws
Dylan Kucera took home two first-place honors from the Central Nebraska Challenge.
First up was the hammer throw, in which he whirled a seasonal best of 62.00m (203-5) that rates him No. 2 in NAIA competition this year.
Next came his specialty – the shot put – as the reigning NAIA champ increased his outdoor national lead to 18.82m (61-9). That’s the No. 6 outdoor performance in NAIA history and not far off his PR 18.95m (62-2¼) from last year that has him at No. 3 all-time. His absolute best is an NAIA indoor record 19.17m (62-10¾), set while winning a fourth-straight indoor title this winter.
Kucera is the first male athlete from Midland to be named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season.
NAIA WOMEN – Praise Idamadudu, Cumberland (Tenn.)
Sophomore | Nigeria | Sprints
Praise Idamadudu took over the NAIA qualifying lead twice with two comfortable wins at the UAB Spring Invitational.
In the 100 meters, she clocked 11.54 with a 0.3mps wind to win by 0.35 seconds. She then returned for a 0.73-second victory in the 200 in 23.58, a time aided by a wind of 2.4mps.
Idamadudu – second in the 60 and 200 at the NAIA Indoor Championships last month – has yet to race in the 400, in which is reigning NAIA champ.
Idamadudu is the first female athlete from Cumberland (Tenn.) to be named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season.
NJCAA DIVISION I MEN – South Plains (Texas) 4×800
South Plains (Texas) outdid themselves in the 4×800 at the Texas Relays, and that’s saying something – last year they won the university/college race with the No. 2 time in NJCAA history to become the first junior college team to win the event at the meet.
They are now No. 1, setting a meet record of 7:15.66 in chopping 3.58 seconds off the 7:19.24 NJCAA best by Blinn (Texas) in 1992. The Texans won over seven four-year schools in becoming No. 15 on the all-time list combining all programs.
Sophomore Aron Tanui – last year’s anchor – led off and put SPC in front with a 1:49.72 before handing off to freshman Trayquan Francis, whose 1:52.07 was significantly faster than his open best of 1:54.28 as the Texans were now running second.
Sophomore Chevonne Hall carried the baton for the third leg, splitting 1:48.32 (better than his open PR of 1:49.55). That gave SPC the lead for good as sophomore Kimar Farquharson – indoor NJCAA record holder (1:47.04) and No. 2 outdoors (1:46.88) – blew the race wide open with his 1:45.57 anchor. He turned a 1.45-second lead into the final winning margin of 5.96 seconds.
This is the 10th time that male athletes from South Plains have been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season.
NJCAA DIVISION I WOMEN – New Mexico JC 4×400
New Mexico JC showed their 4×400 relay team was more than ready at the Texas Relays, winning their heat in a school record 3:37.34 to qualify for the final.
In the final, the T-Birds moved up from No. 4 to No. 3 on the all-time NJCAA list, clocking 3:35.95 for the fastest NJCAA time since 2014.
The quartet – which finished seventh in the final ahead of rival South Plains (Texas) – was made up of Michaliliah Vassell, Deshana Skeete, Calisha Taylor and Lacarthea Cooper. Cooper is a freshman while the others are sophomores.
This is the seventh time that female athletes from New Mexico JC have been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season.
NJCAA DIVISION III MEN – Jewleus Benner, Thaddeus Stevens (Pa.)
Freshman | Lancaster, Pennsylvania | Jumps
Jewleus Benner made a big increase to his seasonal best in the high jump at the Millersville Metrics meet – all the way from 1.71m (5-7¼) to 1.98m (6-6).
That mark matched the winning height at last year’s NJCAA Division III Championships as Benner took the national lead and continued his undefeated season.
Benner is the second male athlete from Thaddeus Stevens to be named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season.
NJCAA DIVISION III WOMEN – Lilly Alberts, Harper (Ill.)
Freshman | Richmond, Illinois | Mid-Distance
Lilly Alberts opened up outdoors much like she was indoors – unbeatable against NJCAA Division III competition.
At the Millikin Alumni Invitational, Alberts won the 800 meters in 2:22.72. That’s the fastest outdoor time of the year thus far in NJCAA DIII and is even fastest than last year’s winning mark at the NJCAA DIII Championships (2:25.01).
Alberts returned to anchor her Hawk teammates to victory in the 4×400 relay with a time of 4:12.30, another national-leading time. In the fall, she made a name for herself at longer distances, finishing third in the NJCAA Division III Cross Country Championships at 5000 meters in leading Harper to the team title by one point.
Alberts is the second female athlete from Harper to be named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season.