M-F Athletic National Athletes of the Week (November 11)
NEW ORLEANS — The biggest stars shine on the biggest stages.
Conference Championships Weekend is one of those venues.
Here are our M-F Athletic National Athletes of the Week in NAIA Cross Country.
- NAIA Men – Daniel Butler, College of Idaho
- NAIA Women – Heather Murphy, Montreat (N.C.)
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.
NAIA MEN – Daniel Butler, College of Idaho
Grad Student | Buhl, Idaho
Four races. Four wins for Daniel Butler.
The grad student from College of Idaho rolled to his fourth consecutive victory of the season this past weekend at the Cascade Collegiate Conference Championships. He crossed the finish line in 24:12.9, nearly 17 seconds faster than the runner-up. That ultimate low stick propelled the top-ranked Coyotes to the team title with 24 points, as they soundly beat two other top-15 programs.
Butler has momentum going into the upcoming NAIA Cross Country Championships on Friday, November 22, in Columbia, Missouri. He’ll look to improve his previous best finish of 11th place.
This is the second time this season that Butler has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week. He previously earned national weekly honors on October 28.
NAIA WOMEN – Heather Murphy, Montreat (N.C.)
Freshman | Portarlington, Ireland
Heather Murphy has established herself as a contender for the individual title at the upcoming NAIA Cross Country Championships with just two collegiate meets under her belt.
Murphy cruised to her second victory in a row this past weekend at the Appalachian Athletic Conference Championships, winning by exactly 16 seconds in 20:33.5. That is the fastest mark among all NAIA female athletes this season, according to data collected by AthleticNET.
With Murphy leading the way, No. 5 Montreat (N.C.) nearly knocked off No. 2 Milligan (Tenn.) for the team title. The Cavaliers finished with 34 points, just three more than the Buffs.