Award History
NCAA DIII OTF National Awards2023 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field National Awards
NEW ORLEANS – National Athletes and Coaches of the Year for the 2023 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field season were announced on Thursday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
Member coaches voted on these honors following the conclusion of 2023 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships this past weekend in Rochester, New York, but considered performances throughout the season when voting on these honors.
National Men's Track Athlete of the Year
Alex Phillip was named the National Men’s Track Athlete of the Year for the 2023 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field season. Phillip, who hails from Akron, Ohio, capped a record-breaking year at the 2023 NCAA DIII Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Rochester, New York, where he swept the 5000 and 10,000-meter titles – the latter of which with a meet-record 28:37.89 effort. If Phillip hadn’t already run faster over 25 laps earlier in the season, that would have been the NCAA DIII record. Instead, it was No. 2 behind his own mark of 28:31.60 that he ran at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational in mid-April. Phillip also took down the NCAA DIII 5000-meter record when he went 13:47.41 three weeks earlier.
National Women's Track Athlete of the Year
Kenadee Wayt was named the National Women’s Track Athlete of the Year for the 2023 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field season. Wayt, who hails from Wheeling, West Virginia, scored 21.75 points in track events at the 2023 NCAA DIII Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Rochester, New York. She became the first female athlete to win both the 200- and 400-meter titles at the meet since Wadeline Jonathas in 2018. As a member of Mount Union’s relay teams, she helped them finish third in the 4×400 and eighth in the 4×100. Wayt starred at the OAC Outdoor Championships in early May by scoring 25 points thanks to individual titles in the 100 and 200, as well as totes on the winning 4×100 and 4×400 relays. She ended the regular season ranked among the top-10 seasonal performers in three different individual events: 100 (No. t-10), 200 (No. 2) and 400 (No. 2).
National Men's Field Athlete of the Year
Yakob Ekoue was named the National Men’s Field Athlete of the Year for the 2023 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field season. Ekoue, who hails from Hopkins, Minnesota, scored 24 points in field events at the 2023 NCAA DIII Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Rochester, New York. He won the shot put, finished runner-up in the discus and took third in the hammer – the latter two with PR marks. Ekoue showed a flair for scoring more than 20 points at a single meet earlier in the postseason when he amassed 28 at the WIAC Outdoor Championships with victories in both the discus and shot put, in addition to a runner-up effort in the hammer. He ended the regular season ranked second nationally in both the discus and shot put.
National Women's Field Athlete of the Year
Victoria Kadiri was named the National Women’s Field Athlete of the Year for the 2023 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field season. Kadiri, who hails from Lynn, Massachusetts, swept the horizontal jumps at the 2023 NCAA DIII Outdoor Track & Field Championships – and did so with style. She shattered the NCAA DIII record in the triple jump with her 13.21m (43-4¼) winner and equaled the sixth-best all-time performance in the long jump at 6.16m (20-2½). Kadiri also scored in the heptathlon at the NCAA meet, highlighting her seven-event foray with a long jump of 6.17m (20-3) for the fourth-best performance in NCAA DIII history. Don’t forget that Kadiri was already the No. 2 all-time performer in the long jump from earlier in the season. Kadiri went undefeated against NCAA DIII competition in both the long jump and triple jump this season.
National Men's Coach of the Year
Todd Linder was named the National Men’s Coach of the Year for the 2023 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field season. Linder, in his tenth year with the MIT track & field program, led the Engineers to the team title at the 2023 NCAA DIII Outdoor Track & Field Championships. It is their first outdoor title in program history. MIT scored 60.5 points and totaled ten or more points in three events, which included event titles in the 110-meter hurdles, 800 meters and 1500 meters. The Engineers rolled to victories at both the NEWMAC Outdoor Championships and the New England DIII Outdoor Championships with title-winning margins of 126 points and 62 points, respectively.
National Women's Coach of the Year
Nickolas Davis was named the National Women’s Coach of the Year for the 2023 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field season. Davis, in his sixth year as head coach at UW-La Crosse, led the Eagles to the team title at the 2023 NCAA DIII Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Rochester, New York. UW-La Crosse scored 67.5 points and did so thanks to top-8 finishes in 14 different events – none of which included a winner. Earlier in the season, the Eagles romped to the team title at the WIAC Outdoor Championships, where they scored a meet-record 363.5 points and swept the award slate clean (WIAC Coaching Staff of the Year, WIAC Track Performer of the Meet, WIAC Field Performer of the Meet and WIAC Newcomer of the Year).
National Men's Assistant Coach of the Year
Derek Rousseau was named the National Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year for the 2023 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field season. Rousseau, in his sixth year as assistant coach at MIT, tutored athletes who scored 28.5 points at the 2023 NCAA DIII Outdoor Track & Field Championships, which propelled the Engineers to their first outdoor title in program history. Kenneth Wei accounted for 14 points himself with a runner-up effort in the long jump and a third-place finish in the 110-meter hurdles behind teammate and champion Enoch Ellis. His athletes also helped MIT capture team titles at both the NEWMAC Outdoor Championships and the New England DIII Outdoor Championships.
National Women's Assistant Coach of the Year
Katie Wagner was named the National Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year for the 2023 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field season. Wagner, in her 13th year at UW-La Crosse, tutored athletes who scored 35 points at the 2023 NCAA DIII Outdoor Track & Field Championships. That included 16 points alone from 100- and 200-meter runner-up Lauren Jarrett. The Eagles flew under Wagner’s direction in the sprints, hurdles and relays, finishing the regular season at the top of the #EventSquad Rankings in three events (100, 100-meter hurdles and 400-meter hurdles), as well as a third- and fifth-best billing in the 200 and 400, respectively.