USTFCCCA Awards
By USTFCCCA Communications, USTFCCCA January 16, 2024   

M-F Athletic National Athletes of the Week (January 16)

NEW ORLEANS – Records are already falling!

Here are our M-F Athletic National Athletes of the Week in collegiate track & field for January 16, 2024!

  • NCAA Division I Men – Yusuf Bizimana, Texas
  • NCAA Division I Women – Sanu Jallow, Arkansas
  • NCAA Division II Men – James Dadzie, West Texas A&M
  • NCAA Division II Women – Brynn King, Roberts Wesleyan
  • NCAA Division III Men – Eric Gregory, Gallaudet
  • NCAA Division III Women – Emma Kelley, Washington (Mo.)
  • NAIA Men – Jacob Netral, Marian (Ind.)
  • NAIA Women – Heather Durrant, Cumberlands (Ky.)
  • NJCAA Men – Tapiwanashe Makarawu, New Mexico JC
  • NJCAA Women – Lacarthea Cooper, New Mexico JC

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 – Yusuf Bizimana, Texas

Senior | Mid-Distance
London, England

Eight years is a long time for a collegiate record to stand these days.

Yusuf Bizimana decided to break one four days before its eighth anniversary.

Bizimana took down the collegiate record in the Men’s 1000 Meters this past weekend at the Rod McCravy Memorial in Louisville, Kentucky. He traversed five laps of the 200-meter oval in 2:18.10 to shave 0.16 seconds off the former best set by former Penn State standout Brannon Kidder back in 2016 at the Nittany Lion Challenge nearly eight years ago to the day.

The current Longhorn is well-known for his prowess over 800 meters having won the NCAA indoor title in that event last year.

This is the fourth time in the past four years that a male athlete from Texas has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the indoor season. Bizimana joins 2023 honoree Brian Herron and two-time 2021 honoree Tripp Piperi in that regard.

NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN – Sanu Jallow, Arkansas

Sophomore | Sprints
Charlotte, North Carolina

Britton Wilson. Athing Mu. Sanu Jallow.

That’s pretty good company to be in – if you ask us.

Jallow, competing in her first meet in an Arkansas uniform, clocked the third-fastest performance in collegiate history over 600 meters at 1:26.52. That put the Texas A&M transfer behind two athletes who graced The Bowerman stage in the past three years (Mu won collegiate track & field’s highest honor in 2021; Wilson was a finalist for the award in 2023).

This is the second year in a row that a female athlete from Arkansas has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the indoor season (Wilson’s record-breaking effort in the 600 meters earned her national weekly honors on January 17, 2023).

NCAA DIVISION II MEN – James Dadzie, West Texas A&M

Sophomore | Sprints
Akim Oda, Eastern, Ghana

Former NJCAA standout James Dadzie is adjusting quickly to life at the next level. 

The West Texas A&M sophomore flew to the finish line of the 60 meters at the Stan Scott Memorial in 6.58, making him the sixth-fastest performer in NCAA DII history. That also lowered his PR by 0.05 seconds from the 6.63 mark he ran to finish runner-up at the NJCAA Indoor Championships last year.

If the sophomore wants to break the NCAA DII record, he’ll need to shave off four tenths of a second to match Benjamin Azamati-Kwaku at 6.54. Azamati-Kwaku turned pro after the 2023 season following a stint with none other than West Texas A&M. Those are some pretty big shoes to fill for Dadzie.

This is the fifth time in program history that a male athlete from West Texas A&M has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the Indoor Track and Field season. Dadzie joins Joseph Oreva, Isaac Botsio, Quinton Sansing, and two-time winner Benjamin Azamati-Kwaku. 

NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN – Brynn King

Fifth Year | Pole Vault
The Woodlands, Texas

Brynn King keeps raising the bar. 

For the third time this season, the Roberts Wesleyan product topped the NCAA DII record in the pole vault. King ventured east to the Utica Winter Open this weekend, jumping 4.46 meters (14-7½) and besting her previous standard by 4cm. Perhaps more impressive is the fact that the fifth year student hadn’t competed since December 8. Six weeks of practice and yet not a beat was missed. 

King is the first NCAA DII female athlete to be named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week three consecutive times during the indoor season. She previously earned national weekly honors on December 4 and December 11.

NCAA DIVISION III MEN – Eric Gregory, Gallaudet

Senior | Sprints
Metairie, Louisiana

Eric Gregory is off to a fast start in 2024.

Gregory shattered the NCAA DIII record in the Men’s 300 Meters two weeks ago at the VCU Rams Indoor Invitational when he traversed the distance in 33.27. That was 0.37 seconds faster than former Ramapo standout Cheickna Traore ran two years ago at the TNJC Indoor Open.

We’ve seen quick marks from Gregory over 400 meters before, so 300 meters was right in his wheelhouse. Back in May, Gregory won the 400-meter crown at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 45.93, which made him the No. 3 performer in division history behind Andrew Rock (44.66) and Dwayne Stevens (45.90).

This is the first time in program history that an athlete from Gallaudet has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the indoor season.

NCAA DIVISION III WOMEN – Emma Kelley, Washington (Mo.)

Senior | Mid-Distance
St. Louis, Missouri

Emma Kelley appears to already be in postseason form.

The fact that it’s only mid-January should be reason for concern for the rest of NCAA DIII.

Kelley, who swept the 800-meter crowns at the NCAA Championships last year, turned in a division-leading 2:06.78 in that event at the Friday Night Spikes Opener hosted by Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. That was the seventh-fastest performance in NCAA DIII history and the second-fastest performance in NCAA DIII history on a flat track (Esther Seeland of Messiah ran 2:05.75 to win the NCAA title at the JDL FastTrack in Winston-Salem, North Carolina).

How does that mark stack up with what Kelley ran last year to win those NCAA titles? Kelley went 2:06.62 for the NCAA indoor title and then topped the outdoor podium with her 2:06.47 effort.

This is the second time in the past three years that Kelley has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the indoor season. Kelley previously earned national weekly honors on January 25, 2022, following another division-leading effort in the 800 meters.

NAIA MEN – Jacob Netral, Marian (Ind.)

Senior | Throws
Westfield, Indiana

Jacob Netral seemed right at home in the shot put at Wabash College’s Robert H. Johnson “Some Little Giant” Invitational.

Any of Netral’s six efforts would have given him victory in the competition, but his top heave of 18.11m (59-5) improved his lifetime best by more than three feet, and he even surpassed his outdoor best of 17.74m (58-2½). He is now No. 9 on the all-time NAIA indoor chart.

Netral was fourth in the NAIA Indoor Championships last year and was also fourth in the NAIA Outdoor Championships in the spring.

This is the first time that a male athlete from Marian has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the indoor season.

NAIA WOMEN – Heather Durrant, Cumberlands (Ky.)

Freshman | Racewalk
Elgin, Illinois

Heather Durrant’s collegiate racewalking debut was a performance to remember.

Not only did her time of 13:15.14 win the 3000-meter racewalk at the Mondo College Invitational by more than a minute, it also broke the known NAIA indoor all-time best by more than 22 seconds.

The fact that Durrant also set a PR is also noteworthy – her previous best of 13:27.22 last summer won her a second-straight USATF National Junior Olympics. In the 10k racewalk, Durrant was U.S. U20 champion last year and earned a silver medal at the Pan-American U20 Championships.

This is the first time that a female athlete from Cumberlands has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the indoor season.

NJCAA MEN – Tapiwanashe Makarawu, New Mexico JC

Freshman | Sprints
Harare, Zimbabwe

Tapiwanashe Makarawu moved up one spot on the all-time NJCAA indoor 200-meter list, but that improvement was a major one – from No. 2 to No. 1.

Makarawu blazed the Texas Tech Sports Performance Center oval in 20.29 seconds to win the Stan Scott Memorial Invitational. That inched him just ahead of the 20.30 NJCAA record set by Kenny Bednarek in 2019. Makarawu’s previous best was 20.47 from last year.

Also known by his nickname of “Carlie,” Makarawu won three NJCAA titles last year – the 60 and 200 indoors and the 100 outdoors.

This is the third time that a male athlete from New Mexico JC has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the indoor season. Makarawu won the honor last year in joining Kelsey Daniel (also in 2023) in that regard.

NJCAA WOMEN – Lacarthea Cooper, New Mexico JC

Sophomore | Sprints
Freeport, Bahamas

Before this past weekend’s Stan Scott Memorial Invitational, Lacarthea Cooper was No. 4 on the New Mexico JC 400-meter all-time list – an impressive group as all four were among the top-20 in NJCAA history.

After her 54.04 victory at the Texas Tech Sports Performance Center, Cooper is now the No. 1 T-Bird in rising to No. 7 on the NJCAA all-time list. Her previous best was 54.85, set on the same track last February prior to an eighth-place finish at the NJCAA Indoor Championships.

This is the 12th time that a female athlete from New Mexico JC has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the indoor season. Cooper joins Calisha Taylor (2023), Deshana Skeete (2023), Kimone McLeod (twice in 2022), Demisha Roswell (twice in 2020), Kristal Liburd (2019), Victoria Villanueva (2019), Esther Gitahi (2019 and 2018) and Kelsey Shannon (2015) in that regard.