We Speak Track And Field
Pittsburg State’s Dylan Sprecker Makes History as Division II National Athlete of the Week
No Pittsburg State cross country runner had ever been named the NCAA Division II National Athlete of the Week — until Dylan Sprecker. The redshirt senior earned the M-F Athletic/USTFCCCA honour after winning the individual title at the NCAA Division II Pre-National Invitational on October 11, the first collegiate cross country race win of his career.
Sprecker took the race in 23:53.9, finishing 4.1 seconds clear of runner-up Henry Born of Missouri S&T, and defeated a field that included Chile Pepper Festival champion Pau Valderrama of Missouri Western and Ricardo Vargas of Cal Poly Pomona, a 2025 NCAA Championships top-25 finisher.
A three-time NCAA champion on the track, including relays, Sprecker has now carried that pedigree onto the grass — and put the Gorillas on the national map heading toward championship season.
We Speak Track And Field
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.
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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