Award History
NCAA DIII ITF National Awards2024 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field National Awards
NEW ORLEANS – National Athletes & Coaches of the Year for the 2024 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field season were announced on Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
These awards were voted on by USTFCCCA member coaches following the conclusion of the 2024 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships this past weekend in Virginia Beach, Virginia, based off performances at that meet, as well as throughout the rest of the season.
Only athletes and coaches from member institutions are eligible to win awards.
National Women's Track Athlete of the Year
Kenadee Wayt was named the 2024 NCAA DIII Women’s Indoor Track & Field National Track Athlete of the Year. Wayt, who hails from Wheeling, West Virginia, scored 28 points at the 2024 NCAA DIII Indoor Track & Field Championships in Virginia Beach, Virginia. She completed the 200-400 double and finished runner-up in the 60 meters – all in the span of two hours. Wayt won a historic 200-meter final in 24.10 to become the second-fastest woman in NCAA DIII history in a race that saw three others crack the all-time top-10. That came just 50 minutes after she won the 400 in 54.72 to move up to No. 4 on the all-time chart. Wayt stood out during the regular season, too, setting NCAA DIII records in both the 300 and 500, and scoring 32.5 points at the OAC Indoor Championships to lead Mount Union to the team title.
National Men's Track Athlete of the Year
Sam Blaskowski was named the 2024 NCAA DIII Men’s Indoor Track & Field National Track Athlete of the Year. Blaskowski, who hails from Oshkosh, Wisconsin, completed the 60-200 double in record fashion at the 2024 NCAA DIII Indoor Track & Field Championships in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He set a meet record of 6.66 in the 60-meter prelims before winning that event title at 6.68. Then, Blaskowski scorched one lap of the Virginia Beach Sports Center track in 20.93 to become the second-fastest man in NCAA DIII history. Blaskowski went 6.68 or faster seven times in the 60 during the indoor season, including an NCAA DIII-record 6.64 at the Mark Guthrie Legacy Invitational.
National Women's Assistant Coach of the Year
Gordon Reiter was named the 2024 NCAA DIII Women’s Indoor Track & Field National Assistant Coach of the Year. Reiter, in his 11th year at Washington (Mo.), coached athletes to score 26 of the Bears’ 49 points at the 2024 NCAA DIII Indoor Track & Field Championships. Emma Kelley, his prized pupil, won the 800-meter title in an NCAA DIII-record 2:04.13. His relay teams finished second in the 4×400 and sixth in the distance medley. Entering the NCAA Championships, Reiter’s athletes were ranked first, second and fourth nationally in the 800.
National Men's Assistant Coach of the Year
Nathan Petesch was named the 2024 NCAA DIII Men’s Indoor Track & Field National Assistant Coach of the Year. Petesch, in his sixth year at UW-La Crosse, coached athletes to score 24 of the Eagles’ 74 total points at the 2024 NCAA DIII Indoor Track & Field Championships in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Ethan Gregg, Petesch’s prized pupil, tallied 18 of those points with a victory in the 3000 meters and a runner-up effort in the 5000 meters. During the regular season, Petesch-coached athletes amassed 43 points at the WIAC Indoor Championships, accomplished without doubling any of UW-La Crosse’s national qualifiers.
National Women's Coach of the Year
Matt Jones was named the 2024 NCAA DIII Women’s Indoor Track & Field National Coach of the Year. Jones, in his ninth year at Loras, led the Duhawks to the team title at the 2024 NCAA DIII Indoor Track & Field Championships in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Loras only scored points in six events, but stockpiled ten or more in three of those – high jump (18), long jump (10) and pentathlon (10) – with national champions in each. During the regular season, the Duhawks flew to the team title at the A-R-C Indoor Championships with 202 points.
National Men's Coach of the Year
Josh Buchholtz was named the 2024 NCAA DIII Men’s Indoor Track & Field National Coach of the Year. Buchholtz, in his 16th year at UW-La Crosse, led the Eagles to the team title at the 2024 NCAA DIII Indoor Track & Field Championships in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The Eagles scored 74 points – the most by a winning team since 2007 – and had top-8 finishers in nine different events, including multiples in the 200 meters, 3000 meters and 5000 meters. UW-La Crosse starred during the regular season, too, winning the team title at the WIAC Indoor Championships with a meet-record 242.5 points.
National Women's Field Athlete of the Year
Grace Alley was named the 2024 NCAA DIII Women’s Indoor Track & Field National Field Athlete of the Year. Alley, who hails from Seneca, Illinois, scored 24 points in field events at the 2024 NCAA DIII Indoor Track & Field Championships in Virginia Beach, Virginia. She won both the high jump and pentathlon and finished fourth in the triple jump. Alley started the season with a bang, shattering the nine-year-old NCAA DIII record in the pentathlon with 3986 points at the Finals Week Invitational that included a long jump PR of 5.87m (19-3¼). She was busy at the A-R-C Indoor Championships, winning the high jump, pentathlon, and the triple jump.
National Men's Field Athlete of the Year
Joseph White was named the 2024 NCAA DIII Men’s Indoor Track & Field National Field Athlete of the Year. White, who hails from Kenosha, Wisconsin, scored 18 points in field events at the 2024 NCAA DIII Indoor Track & Field Championships in Virginia Beach, Virginia, with a resounding victory in the weight throw and a runner-up finish in the shot put. In his title-winning event, White notched two throws of 21.32m (69-11½) or farther, including a majestic 21.64m (71-0) heave that was the second-farthest throw in meet history and the eighth-farthest in NCAA DIII history. White left his mark on the NCAA DIII record book this season with four all-time top-10 marks in the weight throw and one in the shot put that made him the No. 5 all-time performer.