Class of 2025 for USTFCCCA NCAA DII Athlete Hall of Fame Announced

NEW ORLEANS – The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced eight inductees into the NCAA Division II Athlete Hall of Fame inductees on Wednesday afternoon.

SEE MORE: USTFCCCA NCAA Division II Track & Field Athlete Hall of Fame

The Class of 2025 includes Mobolade Ajomale of Academy of Art, Lerone Clarke of Lincoln (Mo.), Sheena Devine of Bemidji State, Caroline Kurgat of Alaska Anchorage, Lauren Martin of Adams State, Aucencio Martinez of Adams State, Kurt Roberts of Ashland and Lauren Stelten of Minnesota State.

Mobolade Ajomale’s legendary résumé speaks for itself: ten-time NCAA champion, 20-time All-American, 19-time PacWest champion, six-time USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Year, seven-time USTFCCCA Regional Athlete of the Year, the list goes on. As of 2024, Ajomale is also the only male athlete to win six titles at the NCAA DII Indoor Championships. He won three consecutive crowns in both the 60 meters and 200 meters: the former from 2016 to 2018; the latter from 2017 to 2019. Back in 2018, Ajomale set what was the division’s 200-meter record with his 20.67 marker at the BU Last Chance Meet. Outside of the collegiate scope, Ajomale won an Olympic bronze medal as part of Canada’s 4×100 relay at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Lauren Stelten (now Svoboda) made the most of her four years at Minnesota State. Stelten, a star pole vaulter, ended her legendary career as a Maverick with two NCAA titles, three NCAA runner-up finishes and eight total All-America honors. Both of her NCAA titles came in 2011 when she completed the indoor-outdoor sweep. That indoor crown shone brightest since Stelten also cleared PR 4.13m (13-6½) for what was the third best winning mark in meet history.

Lauren Martin (now Masterson) blazed her own trail from Adams State to a Hall of Fame one race at a time. Four of those races ended with Martin claiming victory at either the NCAA DII Indoor or Outdoor Track & Field Championships, including a pair of them at the 2016 outdoor meet in the 5000 and 10,000 meters. Those two came two years after her first two: an indoor 5000-meter crown and another 10,000-meter podium-topper. Martin earned ten career All-America honors between the three seasons and won six individual titles at the RMAC Championships. In 2016, Martin was named the USTFCCCA National Scholar Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year and was part of the NCAA Woman of the Year Top 30.

The Bemidji State program has four NCAA track & field event titles to its credit – all in the shot put. Sheena Devine (now Devine-Remitz) accounted for three of those herself between 2007 and 2008. Devine went two-for-two in 2007 with an indoor-outdoor sweep and then defended her indoor crown in 2008 with the third best winning mark in meet history at the time of 15.91m (52-2½). In all, Devine earned five All-America plaudits and captured six NSIC event crowns. Devine also stood out academically and was the 2008 USTFCCCA National Indoor Field Scholar Athlete of the Year.

Athletes like Caroline Kurgat come around once in a generation. Kurgat burst on the scene in 2017 when she won an individual title at the NCAA DII Cross Country Championships, but put together a Hall-of-Fame résumé in 2019 alone. The former Alaska Anchorage standout, who came to the Last Frontier from Eldoret, Kenya, won four NCAA titles on the track with indoor and outdoor distance doubles, and registered three performances that were either division records or all-conditions bests. Indoors, Kurgat went 15:28.46 over 5000 meters to become the first NCAA DII female to go sub-16 in the event and nearly set an absolute NCAA DII record in the process. Outdoors, Kurgat obliterated a 31-year-old division record in the 10,000 meters when she ran 32:08.09 at the Stanford Invitational, a mark that still tops the chart to this day.

Kurt Roberts left an indelible mark with the shot at the 2010 NCAA DII Indoor Track & Field Championships. It was in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where Roberts set a meet record – and division record – of 19.80m (64-11½) to win his second of three career NCAA titles. That division record stood until 2013, while his meet record remained until 2019. Roberts defended his indoor crown as a senior in 2011 to become just the second man in meet history to reign in that event in back-to-back years. The former Ashland Eagle was named USTFCCCA National Indoor Field Athlete of the Year in 2010 and earned three USTFCCCA Regional Field Athlete of the Year honors between the indoor and outdoor seasons.

Aucencio Martinez was right in the thick of the title hunt in nearly every 1500-meter and mile race at the NCAA Championships between 2004 and 2007. The former Adams State standout captured back-to-back NCAA titles in the mile in 2006 and 2007, anchored the Grizzlies to a DMR crown in 2006, and was a three-time All-America performer in the 1500 meters in 2004, 2005 and 2007. Martinez also added another All-America effort in the 800 meters in 2007. Outside of the collegiate scope, Martinez was a 1500-meter finalist at the 2006 USATF Outdoor Championships, where he finished seventh in 3:40.91.

Lerone Clarke scored points by the bushel for Lincoln (Mo.) during his legendary career: 56½, to be exact . That’s what happens when you’re an 11-time All-American by the time you graduate. Twenty of those points proved most beneficial for his Hall of Fame résumé: the NCAA 100-meter crown that he won in 2004, as well as the 60-meter version he added in 2005. Clarke dominated that 60-meter final, winning by 0.10 seconds in 6.71. Also notable is that Clarke was the first Blue Tiger to capture an NCAA sprint title. Lincoln (Mo.) has since cleaned up in those events with nine NCAA titles between the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships. Post-collegiately, Clarke represented Jamaica three times at the World Championships and won gold as part of the 4×100 relay in 2009.