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NEW ORLEANS — This season just keeps getting better!

Here are the M-F Athletic National Athletes of the Week for April 25.

• NCAA Division I Men – Godson Oghenebrume, LSU
• NCAA Division I Women – Lamara Distin, Texas A&M
• NCAA Division II Men – Eli Kosiba, Grand Valley State
• NCAA Division II Women – Auna Childress, Pittsburg State
• NCAA Division III Men – Alex Phillip, John Carroll
• NCAA Division III Women – Kassie Parker, Loras
• NAIA Men – Saminu Abdul-Rasheed, Florida Memorial
• NAIA Women – Salieci Myles, William Carey (Miss.)
• NJCAA DI Men – Donald Chiyangwa, New Mexico JC
• NJCAA DI Women – JodyAnn Dixon, Hinds (Miss.) CC
• NJCAA DIII Men – Brooks Robson, Hudson Valley (N.Y.) CC
• NJCAA DIII Women – Leah Lloyd, Finger Lakes (N.Y.) 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.


NAIA MEN – Saminu Abdul-Rasheed, Florida Memorial

Sophomore | Sprints | Ghana

The last time an NAIA athlete went sub-10 in the 100 meters, under any conditions was Davidson Ezinwa of Azusa Pacific. That was 1992, when Boyz II Men's "End of the Road" topped the Billboard Hot 100 with Sir Mix-a-Lot and Kris Kross hot on their heels.

Well, Saminu Abdul-Rasheed changed the course of history 31 years later.

Abdul-Rasheed clocked a wind-aided 9.97 (+2.6) to win the 100 at the Sun Conference Outdoor Championships this past weekend. That time is the third-fastest known mark in NAIA history and equals the second-best all-conditions effort by a collegian this season.

He wasn't done there, though. Abdul-Rasheed doubled back to win the 200 in 20.51 and helped the Lions finish runner-up in both the 4×100 and 4×400 relays.

This is the third time this season that Abdul-Rasheed has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week. He previously earned national honors on March 21 and April 11.


 

NAIA WOMEN – Salieci Myles, William Carey (Miss.)

Sophomore | Sprints/Hurdles | Westmoreland, Jamaica

Salieci Myles hurdled into the record books this past weekend.

Myles, competing at the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) Outdoor Championships, set an NAIA all-time best in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.31 (0.6). The previous best of 13.35 was held by Oklahoma Baptist's Akela Jones, who later starred at Kansas State.

The William Carey standout later finished runner-up in the 400-meter hurdles in 1:04.24.

This is the first time that an athlete from William Carey has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season.