M-F Athletic National Athletes of the Week (October 13)
NEW ORLEANS – Winning is pretty sweet.
Here are our M-F Athletic National Athletes of the Week for October 13, 2025.
- NCAA Division I Men – Benjamin Balazs, Oregon
- NCAA Division I Women – Diana Cherotich, Oregon
- NCAA Division II Men – Ramon Rodriguez, Tiffin
- NCAA Division II Women – Hannah Hartwell, Fort Lewis
- NCAA Division III Men – Derick Koen, RIT
- NCAA Division III Women – Madison Hedglin, Misericordia
- NAIA Men – Luke Harber, Taylor (Ind.)
- NAIA Women – Grace Steinmetz, Bellevue (Neb.)
- NJCAA Division I Men – Amantle Modingwane, Ranger (Texas) CC
- NJCAA Division I Women – Juliana Sakat, Iowa Western CC
- NJCAA Division II Men – Esteban Boisseau, Cowley (Kan.)
- NJCAA Division II Women – Tatum Dykstra, Muskegon (Mich.) CC
- NJCAA Division III Men – Ryan Golden, Harper (Ill.)
- NJCAA Division III Women – Clay Whittenburg, Mineral Area (Mo.)
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 – Benjamin Balazs, Oregon
Junior | Portland, Oregon
Benjamin Balazs steadily worked his way through the pack at the Bill Dellinger Invitational.
The junior from Portland, Oregon, climbed from 12th at 2k to fifth by 4k and right into the thick of it at 6k. Flanked by teammates Evan Bishop and Abdel Laadjel, the trio pushed together until the final 600 meters when Balazs made a decisive move. Balazs won the race in 23:08.2, a little more than one second ahead of Bishop. That victory, coupled with four other Ducks in the top six sent the 14th-ranked Men of Oregon to a 16-50 victory over No. 23 Air Force.
This is the third time in program history that a male athlete from Oregon has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the cross country season. Balazs joins two-time honoree Edward Cheserek in that regard.
NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN – Diana Cherotich, Oregon
Freshman | Bungoma County, Kenya
Debuts don’t get much better.
Diana Cherotich made her presence known felt in her collegiate cross country debut this past weekend at the Bill Dellinger Invitational. The freshman from Bungoma County, Kenya, set a 6k course record of 18:58.8 and won by more than 40 seconds over teammate Juliet Cherubet.
This is the third time in program history that a female athlete from Oregon has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the cross country season. Cherotich joins 2024 honoree Maddy Elmore and 2018 honoree Susan Ejore in that regard.
NCAA DIVISION II MEN – Ramon Rodriguez, Tiffin
Senior | Madrid, Spain
Ramon Rodriguez brought the heat on Saturday.
The senior out of Tiffin went 23:44.2 over 8k to seal the deal at the Lewis Crossover. Breaking out the record book, that mark sits third all-time at the meet behind Dayton Brown of Saginaw Valley State and Ryan Hartman of Augustana (S.D.), a pair of top-10 finishers at the NCAA DII Championships. History aside, Rodriguez bested a handful of names at the top of the conversation to win the individual national title this year.
Neither Matthew Storer, nor Mario Giannini, could outdo the recent addition to the Dragons’ roster. Giannini – 28th at the 2024 NCAA DII Championships and already a 2025 NAOW – fell back with a few hundred meters to go, while Storer – fourth at the 2024 NCAA DII Championships and a 2025 NAOW himself – hung in till the last downhill where Rodriguez pulled away.
On the way to his second win of the season, Rodriguez helped his team to a 12th place finish, surpassing No. 19 Michigan Tech and No. 28 Biola (Calif.) as a bonus.
This marks the fourth time a male athlete from Tiffin has been named M-F National Athlete of the Week during the cross country season. Rodriguez joins Talel Khalfi and two-time winner James Ngandu.
NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN – Hannah Hartwell, Fort Lewis
Senior | Carlsbad, Calif.
A nailbiter through and through.
No, literally.
The finish to the Lewis Crossover was decided by a fraction of a second as Hannah Hartwell out-leaned Claire Rethman 20:45.07 to 20:45.09. Hartwell had the win all but wrapped up before Rethman closed hard down the stretch. After reviewing the tape, Hartwell was labeled the victor. Together, the two were 24 seconds ahead of the rest of the field.
Between two meets this season, Hartwell is undefeated, tallying wins over Tristian Spence and Iresh Molina – two All-Americans. One name she hasn’t faced? Lauren Kiley. The only returning woman to defeat her at the 2024 NCAA DII Championships. Trust us, you’ll want to be there for that showdown in a month.
This marks the second time this season that Hartwell has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week. Hartwell previously earned national weekly honors on September 8.
NCAA DIVISION III MEN – Derick Koen, RIT
Senior | Rochester, New York
Derick Koen must love racing at the Highlander Invitational.
How else can you explain three wins in four years?
The senior from Rochester, New York, claimed his third consecutive individual title at the meet, crossing the finish line in 24:42.2 – 3.7 seconds ahead of runner-up Jacob Smith. Koen and Smith were in lockstep for most of the race – never more than a second apart at any verifiable split – before Koen pulled away down the stretch.
Koen will look to carry this momentum into the rest of the season, as he aims to improve on his finishes from last year’s Nagara Region Championships and potentially the NCAA Championships, where he was 14th and 210th, respectively.
This is the third time that Koen has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the cross country season. Koen previously earned the honor twice in 2024.
NCAA DIVISION III WOMEN – Madison Hedglin, Misericordia
Freshman | Dallas, Pennsylvania
Madison Hedglin has competed in three races in her collegiate career so far.
The freshman from Dallas, Pennsylvania, has won two of them – including this past weekend at the Highlander Invitational. Hedglin continued her impressive debut season with an emphatic 23-second win on the Field of Dreams Cross Country Course in Houghton, New York. The Misericordia standout clocked a 6k PR of 21:14.6 to capture top individual honors.
This is the third time in program history that a female athlete from Misericordia has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week. Hedglin joins two-time honoree Clare Schoen (2017 and 2018) in that distinction.
NAIA MEN – Luke Harber, Taylor (Ind.)
Sophomore | Muncie, Indiana
Luke Harber gave Taylor (Ind.) the ultimate low stick this past weekend at the Ray Bullock Invitational – and, in doing so, ran one of the fastest times in TUXC Farm history.
The sophomore from Muncie, Indiana, won the individual title in 25:01.4, the second-fastest mark ever on the 8k course behind former Indiana Wesleyan standout Eli Fullerton’s 24:56.2. Harber and teammate Ryan Hanak went 1-2 to pace the fourth-ranked Trojans to a narrow runner-up finish in the team standings behind No. 2 Indiana Wesleyan, 32-39.
This is the first time in program history that a male athlete from Taylor (Ind.) has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the cross country season.
NAIA WOMEN – Grace Steinmetz, Bellevue (Neb.)
Freshman | Council Bluffs, Iowa
Grace Steinmetz couldn’t have asked for a better start to her collegiate career.
The freshman from Council Bluffs, Iowa, cruised to victory this past weekend at the Dordt (Iowa) Holiday Inn Express Classic, setting a course record of 20:40.4. Steinmetz surged to an early lead and never looked back, finishing 22 seconds ahead of the field and shattering the previous course record by more than a minute. She is just the second NAIA athlete this season to run under 21 minutes for 6k, joining Jaynie Halterman of Taylor (Ind.).
This is the first time in program history that an athlete from Bellevue (Neb.) has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the cross country season.
NJCAA DIVISION I MEN – Amantle Modingwane, Ranger (Texas)
Freshman | South Africa
Amantle Modingwane went out hard at Dallas Baptist’s Old Glory Gallop.
And he didn’t let up until near the finish, bruising the AP Ranch 8k course in Fort Worth, Texas with a time of 23:22.4 to win by 23.8 seconds over NCAA DII All-American Donald Kibet of Washburn.
Modingwane had an almost 8-second lead at the 2k split and increased his lead to 30.3 seconds at the 5k checkpoint before cruising to the finish.
This is the second time that an athlete from Ranger has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week in cross country as Modingwane was also honored earlier this year.
NJCAA DIVISION I WOMEN – Juliana Sakat, Iowa Western CC
Freshman | Greater Accra Region, Ghana
Juliana Sakat’s dominant cross country season saw her win yet again – this time in a virtual nail-biter that produced the two fastest 5k performances of the year thus far.
Sakat battled Mildred Rono of Hutchinson (Kan.) CC all the way to the finish at the Fort Hays State Tiger Open, winning by 1.1 seconds in 16:40.0 as both recorded the fastest times in their respective program’s history.
In Sakat’s case, that program best meant bettering the 16:41.8 recorded by two-time NJCAA DI champ Faith Linga (2019, 2020).
This is the 16th time that a female athlete from Iowa Western has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week in cross country. Sakat has been honored twice earlier this year in joining Barbara Neiva (2024), Silvia Gradizzi (2023), Mercy Biwott (once in 2022, twice in 2021), Faith Linga (four times in 2020, three times in 2019) and Shanieke Watson (2016) in that regard.
NJCAA DIVISION II MEN – Esteban Boisseau, Cowley (Kan.)
Sophomore | Barraux, France
Find strong competition and look for Esteban Boisseau to be among the leaders.
Boisseau was an impressive seventh at the Fort Hays State Tiger Open, which featured the NJCAA Nos. 1 and 2 teams – from DI. Also competing were runners from the deep stables at NCAA DII No. 1 Colorado School of Mines and No. 3 Adams State.
Boisseau’s time of 24:17.6 for 8k was nearly as fast as his 24:15.7 when he similarly impressed three weeks earlier at the Missouri Southern Stampede. He has now been the top NJCAA DII finisher in all three of his races this season, which began with a 10th-place finish at Wichita State’s Gold Classic, where he clocked 19:11.9 over 6k.
This is the fifth time that a male athlete from Cowley has been named M-F National Athlete of the Week during the cross country season. Boisseau was honored earlier this year in joining Miquel Cruz (2024), Diaz-Lopez (2021) and Amos Pkiach (2020) in that regard.
NJCAA DIVISION II WOMEN – Tatum Dykstra, Muskegon (Mich.) CC
Freshman | Fruitport, Michigan
It’s always good to run at home, and Tatum Dykstra did so impressively at the Muskegon (Mich.) Jayhawk Invitational.
Dykstra was the top collegian in finishing as runner-up, covering the 5k course in 18:12.0 for her fastest time of the year. It was the third time in four races this season that she has been the leading NJCAA runner of any level, and fourth among NJCAA DII athletes.
This is the first time that a female athlete from Muskegon has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week in cross country.
NJCAA DIVISION III MEN – Ryan Golden, Harper (Ill.)
Freshman | Fox Lake, Illinois
Ryan Golden led No. 1-ranked Harper (Ill.) for the fourth time in five races this season.
Golden clocked his fastest 8k of the year at 25:46.0 in taking 11th place as the top JUCO athlete at the Gene Davis Invitational in Appleton, Wisconsin.
He was 7.4 seconds ahead of teammate Sebastian Welc, whose only occurrence ahead of Golden was a month ago at the Ken Weidt Classic while earning M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week honors.
This is the 13th time that a male athlete from Harper has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week in cross country. Golden joins Welc (earlier this year), Owen Whelan (three times in 2024), Albert Szewczyk (2023), Jacob Melgosa (2019), Tony Espinoza (2018), Michael Sisko (2018), Sean Sanaghan (twice in 2017) and Scott Williams (twice in 2016) in that regard.
NJCAA DIVISION III WOMEN – Clay Whittenburg, Mineral Area (Mo.)
Freshman | Alton, Missouri
Top-ranked Mineral Area (Mo.) has a battle on its own squad – determining who is No. 1.
Clay Whittenburg forged ahead on team honors to a 3-2 head-to-head lead over fellow freshman Emily Marriott as both Cardinals finished in the top-10 at the Principia Twilight in Elsah, Illinois. Whittenburg’s 25:05.8 in seventh was tops among that duo as they raced 6k for the first time this year.
Mineral Area is the defending NJCAA DIII team champion and is the latest of three teams to hold the No. 1 national ranking this season.
This is the third time that a female athlete from Mineral Area has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week in cross country. Whittenburg joins Emily Marriott (earlier this year) and Jailey Pigg (2024) in that regard.