NEW ORLEANS, La. – The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association revealed the 2024 Regional Awards for the outdoor season, as six Crimson took home awards in the northeast region.
Junior
Graham Blanks and senior
Maia Ramsden won the Northeast Track Athletes of the Year awards, while junior
Kenneth Ikeji and first-year
Milina Wepiwé earned Northeast Field Athlete of the Year honors. Associate head coaches
Marc Mangiacotti and
Alex Gibby garnered the Northeast Assistant Coaches of the Year awards.
A three-time NCAA national champion, Ramsden garners USTFCCCA Northeast Women's Track Athlete of the Year for a second straight season, becoming the first student-athlete in school history to win the award twice. At the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Championships, Ramsden went out on a high note, becoming just the third runner in NCAA history to successfully defend her 1,500m national title. Along with her stellar collegiate performances, Ramsden shined on the professional circuit, breaking the New Zealand national record with a run of 4:02.58 at the USATF LA Grand Prix.
The defending NCAA Men's Cross Country national champion, Blanks takes home the USTFCCCA Northeast Men's Track Athlete of the Year honors after capturing All-America First Team honors in the 5,000m for a second straight season. In Eugene, Oregon, Blanks took home fifth place in the 5,000m at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Championships, as he becomes the first runner in school history to garner the award twice. Blanks is the first student-athlete since Syracuse's Justyn Knight in 2017 and 2018 to win USTFCCCA Northeast Men's Track Athlete of the Year in consecutive seasons.
Ikeji wins USTFCCCA Northeast Men's Field Athlete of the Year for a second straight campaign, joining
Sam Welsh '22 as the only student-athletes in school history to win the honor twice. A two-time NCAA national champion, Ikeji gained All-America First Team status with a second place finish in the hammer throw at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Championships, as he tallied four wins in the hammer throw this season.
In just her first collegiate campaign, Wepiwé is the USTFCCC Northeast Women's Field Athlete of the Year, becoming the third student-athlete in Harvard history to receive the honor. At the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Championships, Wepiwé orchestrated an excellent debut, tossing a personal-best of 59.23m (194'4") to take seventh place in the discus, earning All-America First Team honors in the process. Across the entirety of the 2024 season, Wepiwé earned five wins in the discus.
For the second time in his Crimson tenure, Gibby is the USTFCCCA Northeast Women's Assistant Coach of the Year, earning the honor the first time after the 2023 season. Over the course of the season, Gibby mentored Ramsden, guiding her to the 2024 NCAA women's 1,500m national title and the New Zealand national record of 4:02.58 at the USATF LA Grand Prix. He also pushed first-year
Sophia Gorriaran to All-America Second Team honors in the 800m. At the 2024 Ivy League Heptagonal Outdoor Championships, Gibby's group accounted for 41 points.
Mangiacotti also wins the USTFCCCA Men's Assistant Coach of the Year award for the second time in his time with the Crimson. Coaching the men's sprints, hurdles and horizontal jumps groups, Mangiacotti guided the Crimson men's 4x400m team to a spot at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Championships, as the senior quartet broke the school and Ivy League record with a time of 3:03.76 at the NCAA East Region First Round. He also pushed the men's 4x100m relay team to a new meet record of 40.07 at the 2024 Ivy League Heptagonal Outdoor Championships, and guided junior
Daniel Falode to his third straight Ivy League outdoor triple jump title.
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