Photo by: Evan Poulsen
Ducks Collect Trio of Big Ten Awards
11/26/25 | Cross Country
Silan Ayyildiz, Diana Cherotich and Abdel Laadjel win year-end conference accolades.
EUGENE, Ore. – On the heels of their All-America performances at the NCAA Championships, Oregon standouts Silan Ayyildiz, Diana Cherotich and Abdel Laadjel have collected Big Ten cross country year-end awards.
Laadjel was the unanimous pick for Big Ten Men's Athlete of the Year. The 2025 Big Ten individual champion capped his postseason with a ninth-place outing at the NCAA Championships in Columbia, Mo. He paced the Men of Oregon to a fifth-place national finish, their highest since 2015. Laadjel was also sixth at the NCAA West Region Championships.
For the second-consecutive season, Ayyildiz is the Big Ten Women's Athlete of the Year. She finished ninth at last week's NCAA Championships, a new career-high placing at the national meet, and was a top-three performer at both the Big Ten and NCAA West Region Championships. Ayyildiz is now the seventh woman in Big Ten cross country history to win back-to-back Athlete of the Year honors.
Laadjel and Ayyildiz were the highest-placing Big Ten runners at the NCAA Championships.
Cherotich was voted Big Ten Women's Freshman of the Year. She was the Big Ten individual champion and in her debut appearance at the national meet, Cherotich finished in 31st place overall as the Ducks' second runner across the line. She was the NCAA West Regional runner-up and opened her season with a win at the Bill Dellinger Invitational.
The Women of Oregon were third at the national meet, good for their first top-three NCAA finish since 2018. Earlier this month, Shalane Flanagan was named the Big Ten Women's Coach of the Year.
This year's USTFCCCA All-Americans were officially announced earlier this week. Oregon combined for seven certificates—four women, three men. Ayyildiz and Cherotich were joined by Dalia Frias and Juliet Cherubet while Laadjel led a trio of UO men that also featured Aiden Smith and Simeon Birnbaum.
The USTFCCCA also announced its regional awards this week. Ayyildiz was the West Region Athlete of the Year and Flanagan was the recipient of the Tom Heinonen Award as West Region Women's Coach of the Year. On the men's side, Jerry Schumacher was the Dean Miller Award winner as West Region Men's Coach of the Year.
For more news and information about Oregon cross country and track and field, follow @OregonTF on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Laadjel was the unanimous pick for Big Ten Men's Athlete of the Year. The 2025 Big Ten individual champion capped his postseason with a ninth-place outing at the NCAA Championships in Columbia, Mo. He paced the Men of Oregon to a fifth-place national finish, their highest since 2015. Laadjel was also sixth at the NCAA West Region Championships.
For the second-consecutive season, Ayyildiz is the Big Ten Women's Athlete of the Year. She finished ninth at last week's NCAA Championships, a new career-high placing at the national meet, and was a top-three performer at both the Big Ten and NCAA West Region Championships. Ayyildiz is now the seventh woman in Big Ten cross country history to win back-to-back Athlete of the Year honors.
Laadjel and Ayyildiz were the highest-placing Big Ten runners at the NCAA Championships.
Cherotich was voted Big Ten Women's Freshman of the Year. She was the Big Ten individual champion and in her debut appearance at the national meet, Cherotich finished in 31st place overall as the Ducks' second runner across the line. She was the NCAA West Regional runner-up and opened her season with a win at the Bill Dellinger Invitational.
The Women of Oregon were third at the national meet, good for their first top-three NCAA finish since 2018. Earlier this month, Shalane Flanagan was named the Big Ten Women's Coach of the Year.
This year's USTFCCCA All-Americans were officially announced earlier this week. Oregon combined for seven certificates—four women, three men. Ayyildiz and Cherotich were joined by Dalia Frias and Juliet Cherubet while Laadjel led a trio of UO men that also featured Aiden Smith and Simeon Birnbaum.
The USTFCCCA also announced its regional awards this week. Ayyildiz was the West Region Athlete of the Year and Flanagan was the recipient of the Tom Heinonen Award as West Region Women's Coach of the Year. On the men's side, Jerry Schumacher was the Dean Miller Award winner as West Region Men's Coach of the Year.
For more news and information about Oregon cross country and track and field, follow @OregonTF on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
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