USTFCCCA Awards
By USTFCCCA Communications, USTFCCCA January 23, 2024   

M-F Athletic National Athletes of the Week (January 23)

NEW ORLEANS – This season is already one for the record books!

Here are our M-F Athletic National Athletes of the Week in collegiate track & field for January 23, 2024!

  • NCAA Division I Men – Nico Young, Northern Arizona
  • co-NCAA Division I Women – Temitope Adeshina, Texas Tech
  • co-NCAA Division I Women – Michaela Rose, LSU
  • NCAA Division II Men – Vlad Malykhin, Harding
  • NCAA Division II Women – Brynn King, Roberts Wesleyan
  • NCAA Division III Men – Joseph White, Carthage
  • NCAA Division III Women – Kenadee Wayt, Mount Union
  • NAIA Men – Michael Millslagle, Graceland (Iowa)
  • NAIA Women – Concordia (Neb.) 4×800 Relay
  • NJCAA Men – Geoffry Ronoh, Iowa Western CC
  • NJCAA Women – Sanae Hassnaoui, Barton (Kan.) 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 – Nico Young, Northern Arizona

Junior | Distance
Camarillo, California

Nico Young left us speechless.

Better yet, Young rendered us breathless when he traversed the mile distance in 3:57.33 at the Lumberjack Team Challenge this past weekend. An impressive time itself since it sits No. 5 on the yearly collegiate chart, but when you throw in the fact that it came at 7000 feet of elevation, that mark is downright ridiculous (3:57.33 converts to an unfathomable 3:48.71 at sea level).

Here’s another fact Erik Boal of DyeStat spelled it out perfectly: “No American athlete has produced a sub-4 mile at higher elevation than the Northern Arizona standout did Friday.”

This is the second year in a row that a male athlete from NAU has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the indoor season. Young joins Drew Bosley in that regard (Bosley received honors after breaking the collegiate record in the 3000 meters).

Co-NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN – Temitope Adeshina, Texas Tech

Freshman | Jumps
Offa Town, Nigeria

Temitope Adeshina only has two collegiate competitions under her belt in her collegiate career, but that doesn’t matter one bit: Adeshina is already in rarefied air.

The Nigerian freshman cleared 1.96m (6-5) this past weekend at the Corky Classic to equal the ninth-best performer in collegiate history. That is also the third-best clearance in collegiate competition since 2015: Akela Jones matched the collegiate record at 1.98m (6-6) in 2016; Lamara Distin, who is still competing at Texas A&M, went 1.97m (6-5½) last year.

This is the first time since 2021 that a female athlete from Texas Tech has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the indoor season. Adeshina joins Ruth Usoro in that regard (Usoro took home the laurels on January 19 after a dynamic triple jump).

Co-NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN – Michaela Rose, LSU

Junior | Mid-Distance
Suffolk, Virginia

The 600-yard run isn’t contested often.

When it has, no one in the world is faster than Michaela Rose.

Rose set an all-time world best of 1:16.76 in the event and shattered a near 42-year-old collegiate record in the process. The LSU star was 0.62 seconds faster than the legendary Delisa Walton in 1982. Rose fell just short of Walton’s record last year when she ran 1:17.58 at the same meet.

This is the first time since 2020 that a female athlete from LSU has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the indoor season. Rose is the third female Tiger to earn national weekly honors in program history, joining Tori Bliss (2015) and Tonea Marshall (twice in 2020).

NCAA DIVISION II MEN – Vlad Malykhin, Harding

Sophomore | Pole Vault
Shostka, Ukraine

Vlad Malykhin is making headlines as a sophomore when few dream of doing that in their entire career. 

Dating back to last year, the Harding standout has been at the top of the NCAA DII pole vault ranks. This past weekend he proved that standing isn’t going away anytime soon.

Malykhin jumped 5.50m (18-0½) at the Rumble in the Jungle Invitational to notch the fifth-best performance in NCAA DII history and take the win by more than half a meter. That effort also equaled the sixth-best performer on the 2024 seasonal list.

Malykhin is on the right path to matching his PR of 5.52m (18-1¼) from last year that made him the second-best performer in NCAA DII history. The sole name that stands between him and the top? Billy Olson. The only problem is that the former Abilene Christian standout was way ahead of his time. Olson vaulted 5.74m (18-10) back in 1982 and that was the best the world had seen at the time – yes, a world record.

This is the first time in program history that a male athlete from Harding has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the indoor track and field season. 

NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN – Brynn King, Roberts Wesleyan

Fifth Year | Pole Vault
The Woodlands, Texas

The lore of Brynn King continues.

Another weekend of competition; another record-breaking performance.

King bettered her own NCAA DII pole vault record twice this past weekend at the Golden Eagle Winter Welcome Back Meet, ultimately to 4.60m (15-1) to equal the seventh-best performer in collegiate history. Go ahead and read that again: collegiate history, not just NCAA DII history.

The Red Hawk standout originally upped her all-time best to 4.52m (14-10) with a first-attempt clearance. After conferring with former Olympic gold medalist and Roberts Wesleyan assistant coach Jen Suhr, King asked the bar to be raised to 4.60m (15-1). A clearance there would make her just the ninth woman in collegiate history to top that height. King used all three attempts, but the third time was the charm, as the Duke transfer reached rarefied air.

King is the first NCAA DII athlete to be named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week four consecutive times during the indoor season. She previously earned national weekly honors on December 4, December 11 and January 16.

NCAA DIVISION III MEN – Joseph White, Carthage

Senior | Throws
Kenosha, Wisconsin

Very few athletes have thrown farther than Joseph White in NCAA DIII history.

Actually, very few athletes have thrown farther than White this year collegiately.

White launched a massive PR of 18.94m (62-1¾) this past weekend at the NCC Heenan Invitational to move up to No. 5 on the NCAA DIII all-time chart. The Carthage standout is also currently the No. 7 performer among athletes from all-USTFCCCA member programs in 2024.

No one stood a chance with White throwing like that this past weekend. White won the shot put by more than 15 feet. He also took top honors in the weight throw at 21.38m (70-1¾).

White is now a two-time M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week honoree in 2024.

NCAA DIVISION III WOMEN – Kenadee Wayt, Mount Union

Grad Student | Sprints
Wheeling, West Virginia

Welcome to the record book, Kenadee Wayt.

Wayt set an all-time, all-conditions NCAA DIII best in the 300 meters this past weekend. She turned one lap of the 300-meter track at the SPIRE Institute in 39.33. That was 0.14 seconds faster than Gina Dello Russo ran on a banked track back in 2018. (We should mention that any mark registered on an oversized track – larger than 200 meters – is considered all-conditions.)

That performance shouldn’t have come as a surprise, because Wayt is dynamic at both 200 meters and 400 meters. Wayt won both at the NCAA DIII Outdoor Championships, which completed a season sweep of the 200-meter crowns.

This is the third time in the past two years that Wayt has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the indoor season.

NAIA MEN – Michael Millslagle, Graceland (Iowa)

Senior | Jumps
Lamoni, Iowa

Michael Millslagle was on a roll at the Richard Alsup Open at Northwest Missouri.

Having won the high jump at a personal best-equaling clearance of 2.16m (7-1), Millslagle had the bar placed at 2.20m (7-2½). After one miss, he made his second attempt to become No. =3 in NAIA indoor history.

Millslagle, last year’s NAIA Indoor champion, is also one of seven jumpers from USTFCCCA member programs to clear 2.20m (7-2½) or higher this season.

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

NAIA WOMEN – Concordia (Neb.) 4×800 Relay

Weather forced Concordia (Neb.) to have its last two meets canceled, but thankfully the Bulldogs got back in action when they hosted the Polar Dog Invite on Saturday.

The Bulldogs kicked off the meet triumphantly by winning the 4×800 relay by over 14 seconds in an NAIA-leading time of 9:15.26. Carrying the baton were junior Jenna Esh (2:17.8), senior Kylahn Freiberg (2:18.0), junior Julie McIntyre (2:20.5) and senior Rylee Haecker (2:19.0) for the fastest NAIA mark on a non-oversized track since 2019.

Three of the four relay runners added individual wins in later events: Esh (400 in 58.54, 800 in 2:22.32), Freiberg (5000 in 17:48.25) and Haecker (mile in 5:12.64).

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

NJCAA MEN – Geoffrey Ronoh, Iowa Western CC

Freshman | Distances
Koibatek, Kenya

Geoffry Ronoh’s first race as a Reiver was one to remember.

Running by himself after lap six of Northwest Missouri’s 300-meter oval, Ronoh won the 5000 meters by more than a minute at the Richard Alsup Open in 13:49.47 – the second-fastest indoor time in NJCAA history. The only mark faster is the 13:43.29 that Colby (Kan.) CC’s Wesley Kiptoo clocked in 2020 – also on an oversized track.

Ronoh’s time is also faster than the outdoor NJCAA record of 13:53.61 as he became the fifth NJCAA athlete to run sub-14 combining indoor and outdoor.

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

NJCAA WOMEN – Sanae Hassnaoui, Barton (Kan.) CC

Freshman | Mid-Distances
Midelt, Morocco

No one could keep up with Sanae Hassnaoui in the last half of the mile at the Washburn Rust Buster.

There was good reason – Hassnaoui was on pace to break into the NJCAA all-time top-10. She won by 14.64 seconds in 4:51.25 to move to No. 7 with the fastest NJCAA time since 2018.

Hassnaoui now leads the seasonal NJCAA list in two events, having run 2:56.76 in the 1000 meters to win the Texas Tech Stan Scott Memorial a week earlier.

This is the third time that a female athlete from Barton has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the indoor season. Hassnaoui joins T’Nia Riley (2019) and Ayesha Champagnie (2016) in that regard.