USTFCCCA Awards
By USTFCCCA Communications, USTFCCCA January 30, 2024   

M-F Athletic National Athletes of the Week (January 30)

NEW ORLEANS – Records, we hardly knew you.

Here are our M-F Athletic National Athletes of the Week in collegiate track & field for January 30, 2024!

  • NCAA Division I Men – Nico Young, Northern Arizona
  • NCAA Division I Women – Brianna Lyston, LSU
  • NCAA Division II Men – Miguel Coca, Adams State
  • NCAA Division II Women – Cheyenne Nesbitt, Saginaw Valley State
  • NCAA Division III Men – Mitch Stegeman, UW-Eau Claire
  • NCAA Division III Women – Alexis Boykin, MIT
  • NAIA Men – Zach Zohner, Concordia (Neb.)
  • NAIA Women –Hannah Antkoviak, Olivet Nazarene (Ill.)
  • NJCAA Men – JaQuavious Harris, Salt Lake (Utah) 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

Sub-13 minutes is no longer the barrier.

Nico Young of Northern Arizona made it the record.

Young obliterated the collegiate record in the 5000 meters with his 12:57.14 clocking at the John Thomas Terrier Classic this past weekend and became the first collegian to go sub-13, regardless of competition date (Lawi Lalang previously held the all-time, all-dates best at 13:00.95). He went through 1600 meters in 4:12.84, 3000 meters in 7:52.75 and closed the final 400 meters in 58.04 on his way to a runner-up finish behind Adrian Wildschutt in the White Heat.

The talented Lumberjack has been busy at work this season: Young is the top-ranked athlete on the yearly Descending Order List in the mile, 3000 meters and 5000 meters. Young opened the season with the third-fastest, 3000-meter effort in collegiate history of 7:37.73 and then tuned up for the record-setting 5000 meters with a ridiculous 3:57.33 mile at 7000 feet in Flagstaff.

This is the second week in a row that Young has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week. Young is the first back-to-back male honoree since Emmanuel Korir in 2017.

NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN – Brianna Lyston, LSU

Sophomore | Sprints
Portmore, Jamaica

Brianna Lyston wasn’t about to back down from a challenge.

Lyston lined up alongside Kaila Jackson and Jadyn Mays for the final of the 60 meters at the Razorback Invitational this past weekend. Jackson and Mays were both tied at No. 4 on the all-time collegiate chart in the event with their 7.07 efforts from the NCAA DI Indoor Track & Field Championships last year in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Well, Jackson and Mays have company at No. 4 after Lyston blew the doors off the competition. Lyston ripped the straightaway in 7.07 for the second-fastest season debut in collegiate history behind 2023 The Bowerman winner Julien Alfred’s 7.02 one year ago. The LSU standout won the final by 0.13 seconds and lowered her PR by a whopping 0.22 seconds over the course of the day.

This is the second week in a row that a female athlete from LSU has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week. Michaela Rose previously earned national weekly honors after a collegiate record-setting jaunt over 600 yards.

NCAA DIVISION II MEN – Miguel Coca, Adams State

Senior | Distance
Las Vegas, New Mexico

Miguel Coca ran a mile time that would turn heads without question. And he did it at altitude. 

Adams State took its distance squad out to the New Mexico Team Open in Albuquerque to turn up the heat. Coca and company delivered on that promise. After seven hard laps the senior flew down the home stretch and across the line in 4:00.31 to solidify his spot as the ninth-fastest performer in NCAA DII history with the fastest known mark at altitude.

Perhaps the bigger bragging right was that Coca notched the fastest collegiate mile ever recorded in Albuquerque. Coca went faster than future 1500-meter World Champion Josh Kerr did back in 2018.

Coca is the second Adams State male athlete to be named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the indoor season. Coca joins Romaine Legendre who accomplished the feat on December 5, 2023. 

NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN – Cheyenne Nesbitt, Saginaw Valley State

Senior | Combined Events
Essexville, Michigan

Cheyenne Nesbitt had a weekend to remember.

That might actually be an understatement.

Nesbitt (nee Williamson) starred at the USATF Combined Event Indoor Championships in Indianapolis this past weekend. The Saginaw Valley State product became the first collegian to win pentathlon gold and shattered her own NCAA DII record by 183 points in the process. Nesbitt finished with 4475 points, easily dwarfing her old PR of 4292, which now stands No. 2.

Here’s how the competition played out in order of events: 8.43 seconds in 60-meter hurdles; 1.83m (6-0) in high jump; 13.05m (42-9¾) in shot put; 5.96m (19-6¾) in long jump; and 2:17.41 in 800. The spotlight truly shines on her high jump performance, which vaulted Nesbitt to No. 8 all-time in NCAA DII history. 

This is the third time in her career that Nesbitt has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the indoor season. Nesbitt previously earned national weekly honors on January 26, 2021 and March 2, 2021. 

NCAA DIVISION III MEN – Mitch Stegeman, UW-Eau Claire

Senior | Combined Events
Coleman, Wisconsin

Mitch Stegeman took the torch and ran with it.

Well, the combined eventer also jumped with it and threw it, too.

Stegeman continued the legacy of combined event athletes at UW-Eau Claire when he captured the decathlon crown at the NCAA DIII Outdoor Track & Field Championships last year. Now, he cracked the all-time top-10 in NCAA DIII history in the heptathlon with his 5388-point total at the Warren Bowlus Invitational this past weekend. Stegeman is the fourth Blugold athlete on the chart behind record-holder Marcus Weaver with 5533 points, third-ranked Dylan Cooper with 5441 points and seventh-ranked Brandon Zarnoth with 5425 points.

This is the first time since 2020 that a male athlete from UW-Eau Claire has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the indoor season. That national weekly honor went to Cooper following what was a record-tying, heptathlon effort at the time.

NCAA DIVISION III WOMEN – Alexis Boykin, MIT

Junior | Throws
Clayton, Ohio

Two meets.

Two throws.

Two division leads.

Alexis Boykin is now the NCAA DIII leader in both the shot put and weight throw after her efforts this past weekend. Boykin started things off at the UMass Lowell Riverhawk Invitational on Friday with a 19.43m (63-9) weight throw, which made her the ninth-best performer in NCAA DIII history. Then, Boykin launched the shot 14.73m (48-4) at the John Thomas Terrier Classic on Saturday to headline the NCAA DIII seasonal chart by more than one foot.

This is the second time that Boykin has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the indoor season. Boykin previously earned national weekly honors in 2022.

NAIA MEN – Zach Zohner, Concordia (Neb.)

Senior | Pole Vault
Battle Creek, Nebraska

Three meets.

Three wins.

Three PRs for Zach Zohner.

The pole vaulter’s latest clearance of 5.20m at the Concordia Classic also got him over the popular 17-foot English barrier at 17-0¾. Zohner, whose previous best was 5.10m (16-8¾), cleared the height on his first attempt before bowing out at 5.31m (17-5).

Zohner is now tied for No. 7 on the known NAIA indoor all-time list. He was runner-up last year at the NAIA Indoor Championships.

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

NAIA WOMEN – Hannah Antkoviak, Olivet Nazarene (Ill.)

Junior | Sprints/Hurdles
Allegan, Michigan

Hannah Antkoviak isn’t competing in her signature event this indoor season.

But that hasn’t stopped the reigning NAIA 400-meter hurdle champion from finding other events until the outdoor campaign starts. Most recently Antkoviak competed in her first-ever 600 meters at the Olivet Nazarene Invitational and won by nine seconds with a time of 1:31.96, a time that puts her No. 5 on the known all-time NAIA list.

Antkoviak’s repertoire isn’t limited to the 600 as she rates among the NAIA top-10 in four other events: 400 (third at 54.70), 60 hurdles (fifth at 8.50), 200 (10th at 24.69c) and as a member of the Tigers’ 4×400 team (third at 3:53.61).

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

NJCAA MEN – JaQuavious Harris, Salt Lake (Utah) CC

Sophomore | Distances
Cheraw, South Carolina

JaQuavious Harris is prominent on this year’s NJCAA Indoor qualifying lists.

He’s the leading entry in three individual events, and his most recent effort gave him the added distinction of being the fastest ever in the 5000 meters – indoors or outdoors.

Harris won the event at the Washington Invitational in 13:40.92, taking down the previous NJCAA all-time, all-conditions best of 13:43.29 set by Wesley Kiptoo of Colby (Kan.) CC in 2020. Harris, who is also known as “JQ”, already leads the NJCAA lists with times converted from high altitude – the mile (3:59.38 converted from 4:07.40) and 3000 (7:53.50 converted from 8:04.16).

In addition, he anchored the Bruins’ list-leading distance medley relay team (9:49.50 converted from 10:05.96). In the fall Harris won the individual 8k title at the NJCAA Cross Country Championships as Salt Lake finished second to Trinidad State (Colo.).

This is the first time that a male or female athlete from Salt Lake 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

Make it three events in which Sanae Hassnaoui is the fastest this year in the NJCAA.

Her latest performance came in the 800 meters at the New Mexico Team Open, where she finished third as the leading JUCO athlete in 2:10.75 to move to No. 8 on the all-time NJCAA indoor list.

Hassnaoui also leads the NJCAA in two events from earlier in the season – the mile at 4:51.25 (No. 7 all-time NJCAA) and the 1000 at 2:56.76.

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