USTFCCCA National Athletes of the Week
NEW ORLEANS – The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced their National Athletes of the Week Tuesday with University of Redlands senior mid-distance runner Tucker Cargile (Denver, CO) representing Division III as its Men's National Athlete of the Week.
Tucker topped them all this past weekend.
Competing at the Pomona-Pitzer Track & Field Invitational, Cargile won a strong 800-meter race in 1:48.89, which gave him the national lead and cemented his place as the No. 12 performer in NCAA DIII history. What made the race so strong? The top-3 marks on the current Descending Order List were turned in between the likes of Cargile (1:48.89), Bennett Boothe-Genthe (1:49.15) and Kai Dettman (1:50.58).
That was also an all-conditions PR for Cargile (his first time under 1:50), who finished a close runner-up in the mile at the NCAA DIII Indoor Track & Field Championships this past month.
This is just the second time since at least 2015 that a male athlete from the University of Redlands has been named National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season. Darren Centi took home the first weekly honor for the Bulldogs seven years ago back on May 5, 2015.
Tucker looks to carry this momentum into this Friday, April 15 when he competes at the Brian Clay Invitational in the 1500m.
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National Athlete of the Week is an award selected and presented by the USTFCCCA Communications Staff at the beginning of each week to eight collegiate track & field athletes, when applicable (male and female for each of the three NCAA divisions and the NJCAA).
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.