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John Carroll’s Sam Su Named NCAC Athlete of the Week for the Second Time This Season

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John Carroll junior Sam Su is making a habit of this. The Blue Streaks runner has earned NCAC Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week honours for the second time in the 2026 season.

Su ran a personal-best 24:22.9 to place eighth in the gold race at the Augustana Interregional Invitational, a 355-runner field, and led John Carroll to a 12th-place team finish with 414 points in a 37-team field featuring eight top-25 Division III programs.

The Woodridge, Ohio native now turns toward the NCAC Cross Country Championships on October 31 at Oberlin College — with two weekly honours and a personal best in his pocket at exactly the right time of year.

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Yehualaw Returns in Valencia as Kwizera Chases Spanish History

Yalemzerf Yehualaw returns from maternity leave in Valencia on Oct. 25, Rodrigue Kwizera chases a first Spanish win, and Kenenisa Bekele is also on the start list.

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Kenenisa Bekele racing the marathon

The Valencia Half Marathon on Sunday, Oct. 25 brings together a returning superstar, a man chasing national history, and one of the greatest distance runners of all time.

Yalemzerf Yehualaw headlines the women’s race in her return from maternity leave. The Ethiopian last raced at the Boston Marathon in April 2025, finishing third in 2:18:06, and her half marathon personal best of 1:03:51 — run on this course in 2021 — makes her the fastest woman in the field. She faces Lisbon champion Tsigie Gebreselama, world road running silver medallist Veronica Loleo and Ftaw Zeray on a course famous for fast times.

The men’s race could produce a first. Rodrigue Kwizera owns the fastest personal best in the field at 58:16, set in Prague earlier this year, and after receiving Spanish citizenship in 2026 he is chasing both the first Spanish men’s victory in Valencia and the Spanish record of 59:39. His training partner Thierry Ndikumwenayo, Andrea Kiptoo, Owen Kapkama, Daniel Ebenyo and 2018 winner Jemal Yimer are all in the field — along with Kenenisa Bekele, the three-time Olympic champion whose appearance alone will draw a crowd.

Britain’s Ben Connor, Charlie Wheeler and Samantha Harrison also feature. The course records — Yomif Kejelcha’s 57:30 and Letesenbet Gidey’s 1:02:52 — were both world records when set, which tells you everything about Valencia’s speed.

Photo: Canadian Running

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