Valby's cross country title earns her USATF Athlete of the Week honors

INDIANAPOLIS — Winning the Southeastern Conference women's individual cross country title by more than 33 seconds and leading her Florida squad to the team trophy, Parker Valby (Gainesville, Florida/USATF Florida) earned recognition as the 39th USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2023, her second time to be honored in the last three weeks.

Valby went to the front almost from the start, passing 800 in 2:15.9 with a pair of Alabama runners and one from South Carolina sticking close behind her. Over the next kilometer Valby and Alabama's Doris Lemngole started to edge away from the field and by the 3K mark they were seven seconds up on the closest challenger.

From there it was a cat and mouse pursuit, with Lemngole leading through 4K in 12:19.5 before Valby powered away to open up a huge gap. At 5K, Valby had put 15 seconds on Lemngole, going past in 15:13.9, and she continued to stretch her lead through the finish line, crossing in 18:37.5 with Lemngole second in 19:11.2.

Other top performances from last week:

• Taylor Roe of Oklahoma State won the women's 6K title at the Big 12 Championships by more than six seconds in 19:35.4.
• Nico Young led his Northern Arizona men's team to the Big Sky Conference title with a 22:49.9 for five miles to win by more than 20 seconds.
• Katelyn Tuohy of North Carolina State won the women's individual title at the ACC Championships by seven seconds in 19:22.8 and led her squad to the team trophy.
• Bob Liking won the men's 8K race at the Big Ten Championships by 11 seconds in 23:56.8 and his Wisconsin squad won the team trophy.

Now in its 22nd 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.

2023 Winners: January 17, Emily Sisson; January 24, Ednah Kurgat; January 31, Woody Kincaid; February 7, Grant Holloway; February 14, Yared Nuguse; February 21, Anna Hall; February 28, Talitha Diggs; March 7, Alicia Monson; March 14, Jasmine Moore; March 21, Keyzelle Thomas; March 28, Camille Herron; April 4, Hillary Bor; April 11, Valarie Allman; April 18, Britton Wilson; April 25, Brooke Andersen; May 2, Gabby Thomas; May 9, Connor Burns; May 16, Britton Wilson; May 23, Brooke Andersen; May 30, Ryan Crouser; June 6, KC Lightfoot; June 13, Grayson Murphy; June 20, Yared Nuguse; July 17, Gabby Thomas & Christian Miller; July 20, Ednah Kurgat; July 27, Nikki Hiltz; August 3, Quenton Lanese; August 10, Shawnti Jackson; August 17, Michelle Atherley; August 30, Ryan Crouser, Noah Lyles, Sha'Carri Richardson & Laulauga Tausaga-Collins; September 6, Yared Nuguse; September 13, Jenny Hitchings; September 20, Yared Nuguse; September 27, Weini Kelati; October 3, Hobbs Kessler; October 10, Conner Mantz; October 17, Parker Valby; October 24, Biya Simbassa; October 31, Parker Valby.

We welcome your nominations!

To nominate an athlete for USATF Athlete of the Week, please send a detailed email about their performance to communications@usatf.org.

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