Award History
NAIA OTF National Awards2023 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Awards
NEW ORLEANS – National Athletes and Coaches of the Year for the 2023 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field season were announced on Thursday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
Member coaches voted on these honors following the conclusion of 2023 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships this past weekend in Marion, Indiana, but considered performances throughout the season when voting on these honors.
National Men's Track Athlete of the Year
Phemelo Matlhabe was named the National Men’s Track Athlete of the Year for the 2023 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field season. Matlhabe, who hails from Johannesburg, South Africa, scored 22 points in track events at the 2023 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships and helped lead Life (Ga.) to the team title. He won the 200 meters in 20.51, finished runner-up in the 100 meters at 10.27, and toted the baton on second-place 4×100 and 4×400 relays. Matlhabe also won both the 100 and 200 at the SSAC Outdoor Championships. He ended the regular season ranked third nationally in the 200 and fifth nationally in the 100.
National Women's Track Athlete of the Year
Praise Idamadudu was named the National Women’s Track Athlete of the Year for the 2023 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field season. Idamadudu, who hails from Nigeria, scored 21.5 points in track events at the 2023 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Marion, Indiana. She swept the 200- and 400-meter titles, in addition to anchoring the third-place 4×100 relay. Her prowess was on full display at the Mid-South Conference Outdoor Championships, where she scored 35 points behind individual titles in the 100, 200 and 400, as well as totes on the first-place 4×100 and 4×400 relays. At the of the regular season, Idamadudu was ranked first or second nationally in three different individual events: 100, 200 and 400.
National Men's Field Athlete of the Year
Dylan Kucera was named the National Men’s Field Athlete of the Year for the 2023 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field season. Kucera, who hails from Fremont, Nebraska, put together a dominant, record-breaking campaign in the field events – especially the shot put. He went undefeated against NAIA competition in his signature event and finished the season with each of the division’s top-30 throws, including a known NAIA record of 19.47m (63-10½). Kucera won the shot put at the 2023 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships with a heave of 19.41m (63-8¼) that topped the field by more than six feet. He also finished national runner-up in the hammer in Marion, Indiana, giving him 18 points – more than half of Midland (Neb.)’s total.
National Women's Field Athlete of the Year
Machaeda Linton was named the National Women’s Field Athlete of the Year for the 2023 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field season. Linton, who hails from Kingston, Jamaica, swept the horizontal jumps at the 2023 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. She soared a wind-aided 5.90m (19-4¼) in the long jump and bounded a wind-legal 12.52m (41-1) in the triple jump. Linton was also double champion at the SSAC Outdoor Championships back in April and PR’d in the long jump at 6.22m (20-5), which moved her up to No. 9 in NAIA history.
National Men's Coach of the Year
Dominic Demeritte, Life (Ga.) was named the National Men’s Coach of the Year for the 2023 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field season. Demeritte, in his second year as Director of Cross Country and Track & Field, led the Running Eagles to the team title at the 2023 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Marion, Indiana. Life (Ga.) scored 55 points behind one event title and seven other top-5 finishes. The Running Eagles entered the NAIA Championships ranked third in the Pre-Championships National TFRI and won the conference title in the SSAC.
National Women's Coach of the Year
Laurier Primeau was named the National Women’s Coach of the Year for the 2023 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field season. Primeau, in his eighth year as head coach at British Columbia, led the Thunderbirds to the team title at the 2023 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Marion, Indiana. UBC amassed 104 points in a dominant display. The Thunderbirds scored in seven different events and brought home titles in two of those (5000 meters and 4×800 relay). UBC was ranked first all season long in the National TFRI and held a commanding lead.
National Men's Assistant Coach of the Year
Nate Wolf was named the National Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year for the 2023 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field season. Wolf, in his eighth year as assistant coach at Dordt (Iowa.), played a significant role in his team’s success in the postseason. The Defenders starred in the distance events at the GPAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, winning individual titles in the 800 meters, 1500 meters, 5000 meters and 10,000 meters. On top of that, Dordt (Iowa) went 1-2-3 in both the 800 and 5000. Peter Shippy, one of Wolf’s prized pupils, would later win the steeplechase at the 2023 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. During the regular season, the Defenders shattered the NAIA record in the distance medley relay at the Drake Relays when they ran 10:03.35.
National Women's Assistant Coach of the Year
Malcolm Dias was named the National Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year for the 2023 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field season. Dias, in his seventh year as assistant coach at William Carey (Miss.), was instrumental in the Crusaders’ success this season. William Carey’s sprinters and hurdles starred at the 2023 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships where they scored 46 points behind two event titles (100-meter hurdles, 4×100 relay) and two runner-up efforts (400-meter hurdles, 4×400 relay), among other performances. Salieci Myles, his prized pupil, set an NAIA record in the 100H of 13.31 at the SSAC Outdoor Championships and then lowered it in a winning effort at the NAIA Championships, when she went 13.28 to win by 0.10 seconds.