KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association has announced its third athletes of the week in the 2025 men’s and women’s cross country seasons. Northwest Missouri’s Aziz Mohammed was crowned the men’s Athlete of the Week and Missouri Southern’s Lilah Genel earned the women’s Athlete of the Week title.  

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Aziz Mohammed, Northwest Missouri 
Aziz Mohammed (Dunkwa-on-offin, Central, Ghana) elevated his game at the Chile Pepper Festival, finishing just outside the top-five in the McDonnell Memorial 8k. Four of the five guys to beat him were from the host squad, NCAA D-I No. 19 Arkansas. The senior took sixth place in 23:44.2, some 15 seconds ahead of the next NCAA D-II athlete. Come November, he'll be looking to add another trophy to his case, having won the 1500-meter title at the 2025 NCAA DII Outdoor Track & Field Championships just a few months prior at West Texas A&M. Mohammed has also been named the USTFCCCA NCAA Division II Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Week.

WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Lilah Genel, Missouri Southern
Lilah Genel led the Lion women at the Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Arkansas, placing 37th with a time of 17:36.6. Genel was the fifth non-D1 runner to reach the line. She was the top finisher for the team, which placed 11th out of 29 teams with a total of 285 points.

OTHER NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
Men’s Cross Country – Jaden Deaton, Missouri Southern
Jaden Deaton led the Lion men at the Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Arkansas, placing 12th with a time of 24:14.7. He was the top finisher for the team, which placed 14th out of 30 teams with a total of 406 points.

Men’s Cross Country – Nick Abdalla, Nebraska Kearney
Nick Abdalla was 14th out of 285 finishers at the Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Ark. He ran the 8k course in 24:17.8 and was the fourth non-D1 runner to reach the line, helping UNK place 10th as a team.

ALSO NOMINATED:
MEN – Pau Valderrama [Missouri Western]

WEEK ONE (Sept. 9):
MEN’S – Jaden Deaton, Missouri Southern 
WOMEN’S – Amy Morefield, Rogers State

WEEK TWO (Sept. 23):
MEN’S – Pau Valderrama, Missouri Western 
WOMEN’S – Paige Mullen, Pittsburg State

WEEK THREE (Oct. 7):
MEN’S – Aziz Mohammed, Northwest Missouri
WOMEN’S – Lilah Genel, Missouri Southern