KEVIN JENISON
GoSycamores.com
NEW ORLEANS – Indiana State junior John Mascari was named the men's Division I National Athlete of the Week by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) today. Mascari is the first Sycamore to earn the national recognition and the first harrier from the Missouri Valley Conference to be honored.
“John is very deserving,” John McNichols, Indiana State men's cross country coach, said. “He has certainly made an impact on the sport in the last couple of years. He was a national qualifier as a freshman and earned All-American honors last year. He has also had tremendous success in the distance events on the track.”
The USTFCCCA release cited Mascari's domination of the 8K run at Illinois State in their recognition of the Sycamore sophomore.
“What started as a controlled 2014 debut run for Indiana State's John Mascari through the early stages of the Country Financial Illinois State Invitational turned into a successful dash for the finish with one of the NCAA's fastest milers,” the association said. “Mascari ultimately pulled away from Sam Penzenstadler – a third-place finisher in the NCAA Championships 1500 meters and winner of last weekend's Wisconsin Badger Open – down the stretch to claim the 8k victory in 23:54, seven seconds clear of Penzenstadler.
“With the win he picks up right where he left off during his breakthrough 2013 cross country campaign as an All-American and the Great Lakes Region champion,” the release continued. “His Sycamores are back in action this weekend at the Indiana Intercollegiates before heading to Notre Dame to kick off October.”
National Athlete of the Week is an award selected and presented by the USTFCCCA Communications Staff at the beginning of each week to six collegiate cross country athletes (male and female for each of the three NCAA 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.
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.
