Amos Pkiach and Lubna Suied named National Athletes of the Week

NEW ORLEANS – The fall cross country season might be winding down, but performances are heating up.

Here are the 10 athletes who were named National Athletes of the Week in NCAA Cross Country and NJCAA Cross Country by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Tuesday!

• NCAA Division I Men – Yared Nuguse, Notre Dame
• NCAA Division I Women – Mercy Chelangat, Alabama
• NCAA Division II Men – Nicodemus Rotich, Texas A&M Commerce
• NCAA Division II Women – Florance Uwajeneza, West Texas A&M
• NJCAA Division I Men – Kelvin Bungei, Iowa Central CC
• NJCAA Division I Women – Faith Linga, Iowa Western CC
• NJCAA Division II Men – Amos Pkiach, Cowley College
• NJCAA Division II Women – Lubna Suied, Cowley College
• NJCAA Division III Men – Hunter Brignall, Finger Lakes CC
• NJCAA Division III Women – Tiffany Lehmann, Joliet JC

NOTE: There weren't enough results at the NCAA Division III level to facilitate choices this week. The NCAA Division III National Athlete of the Week award program will return next week following Conference Championships Weekend.

Find out more about each of these runners by clicking their names or 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 12 collegiate cross country athletes, when applicable (male and female for each of the three NCAA divisions and three NJCAA divisions).

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.