NEW ORLEANS, La. – For the second time in his career, senior Graham Blanks earns the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association National Athlete of the Year award, becoming the first Crimson to win the accolade multiple times in cross country competition.

Blanks is also the first runner from the Northeast Region to win the National Men's Athlete of the Year honor multiple times from USTFCCCA. He is joined by Providence's Keith Kelly and Syracuse's Justyn Knight as the only USTFCCCA National Men's Athlete of the Year recipients from the Northeast Region.

A two-time NCAA National Champion and four-time USTFCCCA All-American in cross country competition, Blanks is one of the most decorated student-athletes in Ivy League history. A two-time Ivy League champion, Blanks became the first student-athlete in NCAA history to win the USTFCCCA Northeast Region Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Year award four times last week.

Dating back to the beginning of the 2023 cross country season, Blanks has finished in first place in eight of his last nine races, taking second place at Pre-Nationals before winning his second NCAA national title in Madison, Wisconsin last month.

Blanks and the Crimson begin the 2024-25 indoor track & field season this weekend, hosting the HBCU & Ivy Challenge and traveling across town to Boston University for the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener.

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