New England Championships Produce Three National Athletes of the Week

NEW ORLEANS – The NEICAAA New England Championships was billed as one of the top meets of the weekend, and it didn’t disappoint with three National Athlete of the Week selections coming from Franklin Park in Boston.

Two-in-a-row was the theme for Mike Biwott of American International this weekend, as the sophomore won his second consecutive New England men’s championship and his second consecutive Division II Men’s National Athlete of the Week award.

Rosa Moriello of Boston U. won the women’s New England individual championship to earn Division I Women’s National Athlete of the Week honors.

Mike Martin of Bates finished eighth as the top DIII finisher in the men’s race at New Englands to take home the Division III Men’s National Athlete of the Week honor.

Elias Chesire of Florida A&M earned the Division I Men’s honor, leading his Rattlers men squad to a team title at Florida State with an individual win in course-record fashion.

"I’m going to Disney World!" is the time-tested standby answer for anyone who is asked what they are going to do next following a big win at a sporting event, but not in the case of Division II Women’s National Athlete of the Week Tina Oprean of Malone: she was already there after winning the individual crown at the Disney Classic at Walt Disney World and leading her team to the title.

The Division III women’s honor went to Ariel Beccia of St. Lawrence, who won her home Ronald C. Hoffmann Invitational in course-record fashion.

THE HONOREES

Division I Men

Elias Chesire, Florida A&M Junior | Eldoret, Kenya TFRRS Profile Chesire took the individual title at the Florida State Invitational with a course-record 24:39.10 over the 8K trail at the Apalachee Regional Complex in Tallahassee, Fla. The junior completed the course just .9 of a second faster than the previous course record at eight kilometers, and nearly five seconds ahead of runner-up and teammate Geoffrey Sambu. Led by Chesire, the Rattlers took the team title with a score of 32.

Division I Women

Rosa Moriello, Boston U. Junior | Naugatuck, Conn. School Bio | TFRRS Profile Moriello took the individual crown at the NEICAAA New England Championships, completing the 5K course at Boston’s Franklin Park in 17:11.95 to extend a streak of consecutive wins by Boston U. runners to three. The junior took the race by a comfortable 13-second margin over runner-up Eimear Black of Bryant in 17:24.93. She has now won both of the races in which she has competed this season.

Division II Men

Mike Biwott, American International Sophomore | Kapsowar, Kenya School Bio | TFRRS Profile For the second week in a row and the third time this season, Biwott is the National Athlete of the Week after dominating the field at the NEICAAA New England Championships en route to his second individual title at the meet in as many years. Biwott blazed through the 8K course at Franklin Park in 23:43.62, the fastest time since Adam Sutton of Providence took the title in 23:31 in 2002. Among the DI-heavy field Biwott left behind was runner-up Rich Peters of Boston U. in 24:04.89, while the next-fastest non-DI finisher was nearly a minute behind.

Division II Women

Tina Oprean, Malone Senior | Canton, Ohio School Bio | TFRRS Profile It was a magical weekend for Oprean at Walt Disney World as the senior won the individual crown at the Disney Classic and her Pioneers squad took the team title. She finished the 5K course at Disney’s Wide World of Sports in 17:31.12 to edge out a host of Division I runners seconds, including runner-up Anne-Marie Blaney of UCF by exactly two seconds and third-place Julie Macedo of Florida by just a fraction more.

Division III Men

Mike Martin, Bates Senior | Slatersville, R.I. School Bio | TFRRS Profile With an eighth-place showing at New Englands, Martin was the top Division III finisher in a race loaded with five nationally ranked teams. The senior finished the 8K course at Franklin Park in 24:42.32 to outpace the nearest DIII finisher by 10 seconds. Behind overall winner and Division II National Athlete of the Week Mike Biwott of American International, Martin was the second Non-Division I finisher in the race.

Division III Women

Ariel Beccia, St.  Lawrence Senior | Rutland, Mass. School Bio | TFRRS Profile Not only did Beccia win her team’s home Ronald C. Hoffmann Invitational, but with a winning 6K time of 21:45.72 she clocked the fastest time in school history on the course — by 20 seconds over two-time national champion Wendy Pavlus’ time from 2008. The senior won by seven seconds over runner-up Colleen Hennessy of the University of Toronto and by nearly a half-minute over third place. The win is the third of the season for Beccia.

ABOUT THE AWARD

Awarded to six collegiate track and field and cross country athletes (male and female for each of the three NCAA divisions) each Monday by the USTFCCCA office beginning with the 2013 indoor season, the National Athlete of the Week Award will spotlight exceptional performances by student-athletes from around the nation.

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.

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.

Nominations should provide qualitative detail to explain the noteworthiness of the student-athlete’s performance. The manner in which his or her event(s) was won or nearly won; any records (school, conference, collegiate, etc.) broken as a result; the national significance of the time, mark or score; and the credentials of the competition are all pertinent details for quality nominations.

Photos, videos and interviews are also encouraged.

Nominations, which can be competed here, are due each Monday by 12 p.m. EST, and winners will be announced by 4 p.m. EST.