INDIANAPOLIS — Running away with the women's individual title at the Southeastern Conference Cross Country Championships, Parker Valby (Tampa, Florida/USATF Florida) earned recognition as the 37th USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2022. Valby, a sophomore at the University of Florida, went to the front of the pack from the start, leading a group that included NCAA 10,000m champion Mercy Chelangat of Alabama. Those two started to pull away from the field by the 2km mark on The Ole Miss Golf Course, putting a three-second gap on the nearest challenger, and Valby went through 3km in 9:11.8. She opened up a five second lead on Chelangat over the subsequent kilometer and hit 15:24.1 at 5km. Holding her lead through the final kilometer, Valby crossed the finish line in 18:25.9 for 6km, almost eight seconds in front of Chelangat. The NCAA 5,000m silver medalist on the track in June, Valby turned in the fastest women's 6km time ever run at the SEC Championships and it came in only her second race of the season. Other top performances from last week's NCAA Division I conference cross country championships:
Casey Clinger won the West Coast Conference men's 8km cross country title in 21:59.4 to lead BYU to the team trophy.
Bailey Hertenstein of Colorado won the women's individual title by more than five seconds at the Pac-12 cross country championships to help her school to the team trophy.
Bob Liking led Wisconsin's men to the Big Ten cross country team trophy with his individual title, clocking 23:48.9 for 8km.
Katelyn Tuohy won the individual women's title at the ACC cross country championships in 19:08.9 to help North Carolina State to the team trophy.
Alex Maier cruised to a 23:55.3 8km individual title to help Oklahoma State's men win the Big 12 cross country team trophy.
Nico Young won the individual men's 8km title by 25 seconds in 22:31.5 to pace Northern Arizona to the Big Sky cross country team trophy.
Now in its 21st 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 when there are high-level competitions and features the athlete on USATF.org. Selections are based on top performances and results from the previous week. 2022 Winners: January 10, Alicia Monson; January 17, Keira D’Amato; January 24, Nyckoles Harbor; January 31, Elle Purrier St. Pierre; February 7, Chris Nilsen; February 14, Grant Fisher; February 21, Camille Herron; February 28, Cole Hocker; March 7, Grant Fisher; March 14, Randolph Ross; March 21, Grant Holloway; March 28, Anna Hall; April 4, Natalie Cook; April 11, Valarie Allman; April 18, Gabby Thomas; April 25, Robyn Stevens; May 2, Erriyon Knighton; May 9, Emily Sisson; May 16, Britton Wilson; May 23, Janee Kassanavoid; May 30, Michael Norman; June 6, Chari Hawkins; June 13, Devon Allen; June 27, Sydney McLaughlin; August 10, Roisin Willis; August 17, Grant Fisher; August 24, Kara Winger; August 31, Alicia Monson; September 7, Kara Winger; September 14, Joe Kovacs; September 21, Biya Simbassa; September 28, Garrett Heath; October 4, Hillary Bor; October 11, Emily Sisson; October 18, Katelyn Tuohy; October 25, Chris Gomez; November 1, Parker Valby. 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. Join the conversation with USATF on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook using the hashtag #USATF. Photo credit: Gators Track and Field