Dani Jones (Phoenix, Arizona) won the NCAA Division I women’s individual cross country title to earn USATF Athlete of the Week.
Jones, who was fifth in the 1500 at this summer’s USATF Championships, pulled away over the final 100 meters to win in 19:42.8 in chilly conditions on a snow-covered 6K course at Madison, Wisconsin. Her individual victory also helped her Colorado squad to the team title, as the Buffs scored 65 points to beat runners-up New Mexico by 38 points.
Full results can be found here.
Other notable performances from the weekend:
Gene Dykes—Dykes, 70, won the 70-74 age group at the Philadelphia Half Marathon, and was the top finisher among all men age 50 and above with his 1:25:06. That time beat the previous national 70-74 record by 2:38.
Paige Lawler—Lawler led her Washington University team to an upset of two-time defending champs John Hopkins at the NCAA Division III cross country championships with a three-second individual victory.
Dhruvil Patel — Patel won the men’s NCAA Division III individual crown and led North Central College to its 19th national title.
Colin De Young — De Young, a junior at Cornerstone, won the NAIA men’s cross country title by almost 15 seconds.
Anna Shields — Point Park’s Shields won her sixth NAIA national title, and her first in cross country.
Now in its 17th year, USATF’s Athlete of the Week program is designed to recognize outstanding performers at all levels of the sport. USATF names a new honoree each week and features the athlete on USATF.org. Selections are based on top performances and results from the previous week.
2018 Winners: January 4, Brian Herron; January 11, Katelyn Tuohy; January 18, Molly Huddle; January 25, Christian Coleman; February 1, Sonja Friend-Uhl; February 8, Emily Infeld; February 15, Kendra Harrison; February 22, Christian Coleman; March 1, Sydney McLaughlin; March 8, Courtney Okolo; March 15, Da’mira Allen; March 22, Lesley Hinz; March 29, Caitlin Collier; April 4, Sydney McLaughlin; April 11, Maria Michta-Coffey; April 18, Desiree Linden; April 25, Twanisha Terry; May 3, Jenny Simpson; May 10, Galen Rupp; May 17, Tori Franklin; May 24, Robyn Stevens; May 31, Ryan Crouser; June 6, DeAnna Price; June 13, Michael Norman; June 20, Alyssa Wilson; June 27, Shelby Houlihan; July 5, Neil Howard III; July 11, Bernard Lagat; July 18, Eric Harrison Jr.; July 25, Courtney Frerichs; August 3, Sianni Wynn; August 8, Lopez Lomong; August 15, Taylor Ewert; August 23, David Angell; August 30, Ronnie Baker; September 6, Christian Coleman; September 13, DeAnna Price; September 20, Charles Allie; September 27, Katelyn Tuohy; October 3, Sonja Friend-Uhl; October 10, Jeannie Rice; October 17, Grace Stark; October 24, Gene Dykes; October 31, Fiona Bayly; November 7, Emily Sisson; November 14, Zach Bitter; November 21, Dani Jones.
We welcome your nominations!
To nominate an athlete for USATF Athlete of the Week, please send a detailed email about his/her performance to communications@usatf.org.
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