KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association has announced its second athletes of the week in the 2025 men’s and women’s cross country seasons. Missouri Western’s Pau Valderrama was crowned the men’s Athlete of the Week and Pittsburg State’s Paige Mullen earned the women’s Athlete of the Week title.
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Pau Valderrama, Missouri Western
Pau Valderrama etched his name into Griffon history last Saturday, becoming the first men's cross country runner at MoWest to capture an individual race victory. The junior from Sant Cugat Sesgarrigues, Spain, claimed the top spot at the Southern Stampede in Joplin, clocking a personal best and school-record 8K time of 23:39.21. His performance secured the win by 1.09 seconds. Valderrama was also recognized as the NCAA Division II Men’s National Athlete of the Week – an honor selected and presented by the USTFCCCA Communications Staff.
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Paige Mullen, Pittsburg State
Paige Mullen led No. 10-ranked Pittsburg State to the team title at the 36th Annual Missouri Southern Stampede on Saturday (Sept. 20) in Joplin, Mo. Mullen, a junior from Shawnee, Kan., was the individual runner-up of the 5K race in 17:10.64. The Gorillas posted a low score of 64 points in the race to claim the team title by 15 points.
OTHER NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
Men’s Cross Country – Jaden Deaton, Missouri Southern
Jaden Deaton once again led the Lions, taking fourth overall in a personal best 8K time of 23:46.27 at MSSU’s Southern Stampede last Saturday. Helping the Lions to a third-place team finish, the senior finished just 0.08 seconds behind the third-place finisher.
Women’s Cross Country – Lilah Genel, Missouri Southern
Lilah Genel paced the squad for the second-straight meet, crossing the finish in 17:48.25 for seventh overall in the women’s 5K at the Southern Stampede. The Lions totaled 79 points to finish second in the 22-team race.
Women’s Cross Country – Ella Buhlke, Nebraska Kearney
Ella Buhlke helped the Lopers to the runner-up finish out of 22 teams at the Greeno/Dirksen Invite in Lincoln, Neb., last Saturday morning. Nebraska Kearney finished ahead of five Division I programs and MIAA foes Emporia State and Northwest Missouri. A 2025 NCAA Division II National Championship qualifier, Buhlke placed sixth individually in 18:00.00. She was the top non-Division I finisher in the 5K race, with two of her teammates placing right behind her.
ALSO NOMINATED:
MEN – Nick Abdalla [Nebraska Kearney], Tyler Atkins [Pittsburg State]
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