NEW ORLEANS, La. – Picking up her second race victory of the season at the Fort Hays State Tiger Open last week, Hutchinson Community College women’s cross country runner Ashara Frater has been named the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association’s National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division 1 Cross Country Runner of the Week.
Frater’s award comes after winning the 5,000-meter race last Saturday in Hays with a time of 17:37.70 and a time that was 38.6 seconds faster than the next collegian in the race. Frater also won the Terry Masterson Twilight in August to begin the season and remains undefeated against NJCAA Competition after finishing as the top NJCAA runner in the Harter’s Habanero 5,000-meter race at the Chile Pepper Festival on October 3rd with a time of 17:28.70.
This is the fourth time that a female athlete from Hutchinson has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week in cross country. Frater joins Mildred Rono (2025) and Faith Jepchirchir (twice in 2024) in that regard. The award also marks the second time that a Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC) women’s cross country runner has earned the award in 2026, joining Butler’s Amanda Kotambe, who earned the award on September 14th.
