Marlborough, Mass.- The NEWMAC has announced its Athlete of the Week honorees for the week ending 10/12/25, presented by SKYBOKX 109.  The full list of honorees can be found below.
 
Men's Cross Country  
 
Runner of the Week- Nick Yacoub (So.), Babson College  
 
Sophomore Nick Yacoub (Sharon, Mass.) finished fourth overall and first among Division III harriers to lead Babson to a victory at the Hopkinton XC Festival on Friday afternoon. He posted a time of 25:35.69 on the 8k course, which was 21 seconds faster than his next closest Division III competitor. 
 
Women's Cross Country  
 
Runner of the Week- Yasmin Defne Dadikhi (Sr.), Emerson College
 
Senior Yasmin Defne Dadikhi (Istanbul, Turkiye) ran to her second event title of the season, leading the field of 98 runners with a first-place finish at the Hopkinton Cross Country Festival at Hopkinton Fairgrounds on Friday. Defne Dadikhi ran up front the entire race to pace the field with her school-record winning time of 18:13.62 over the five-kilometer course. She was second after running the first kilometer in 3:50.60, but took over from there, leading by over 36 seconds after completing three kilometers in 10:57.98 and finishing nearly a minute ahead of second-place runner Raihana Yameogo (19:09.01) at the tape. Defne Dadikhi finished nearly two minutes ahead of the closest Division III entry in the field that included programs from all three NCAA divisions. Her second first-place finish of the season gives her four over her All-Region career.
 
Field Hockey
 
Offensive Athlete of the Week- Penny Baroni (So., F/M), Babson College
 
Sophomore Penny Baroni (Dennis, Mass.) produced two goals and two assists for six points as No. 6 Babson remained unbeaten in league play with a pair of victories. She recorded her second multi-goal game of the year with tallies in the second and third quarters of Tuesday's 2-0 victory over MIT and added a pair of second-half assists as the Beavers pulled away for a 3-0 triumph at Smith on Saturday. 
 
Defensive Athlete of the Week- Madison Tibbals (Fy., GK), Babson College
 
First year Madison Tibbals (Gorham, Maine) was terrific in two starts, stopping all eight shots she faced while posting back-to-back shutouts as No. 6 Babson stayed unbeaten in conference play. She made four saves in Tuesday's 2-0 victory over MIT and followed it up by stopping four more shots, including three in the first quarter of Saturday's 3-0 win at Smith. Tibbals has registered three consecutive shutouts and has not allowed a goal in over 206 minutes, going back to October 1. 

Football
 
Offensive Athlete of the Week- Will Pickett (GS, QB), SUNY Maritime    
 
Graduate student Will Pickett (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) turned in a dominant all-around performance to lead SUNY Maritime to a 34-14 victory at Merchant Marine, the program's first win over the Mariners since 2017. The quarterback was responsible for all five of the Privateers' touchdowns, throwing for three scores and rushing for two more. Pickett accounted for 343 yards of total offense, completing 12-of-18 passes for 181 yards and three touchdowns while adding 162 yards and two scores on 21 carries.
 
Defensive Athlete of the Week- Ryan Costales (Sr., DL), SUNY Maritime
 
Senior Ryan Costales (Brewster, N.Y.) played a pivotal role in SUNY Maritime's 34-14 victory at Merchant Marine, the Privateers' first win over the Mariners since 2017. The junior linebacker totaled five tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble in the victory. His sack on 3rd-and-9 in the second quarter helped set up Maritime's first scoring drive, and his forced fumble in the third quarter led directly to a 13-play touchdown drive that extended the Privateers' lead to 28-14.
 
Special Teams Athlete of the Week- Owen Cunningham, (Fy., K), SUNY Maritime 
 
First year Owen Cunningham (Mineola, N.Y.) had five kickoffs for 154 yards in the Privateers' 34-14 victory at Merchant Marine, their first win over the Mariners since 2017. He averaged 30.8 yards per kickoff and gave Merchant Marine an average starting position of its own 40-yard line. His only punt (which came on Maritime's first possession) carried for 36 yards.
 
Men's Soccer
 
Offensive Athlete of the Week- Cole Miller (Jr., F), U.S. Coast Guard Academy
 
Junior Cole Miller (Annapolis, Md.) continued his strong form in conference play, scoring both goals in Coast Guard's 2-0 victory over Emerson on Saturday. The senior forward netted his second consecutive NEWMAC game-winning goal in the win.
 
Defensive Athlete of the Week- Joao Araujo (Sr., B), Babson College
 
Senior Joao Araujo (Boca Raton, Fla.) keyed a strong defensive effort to help Babson remain undefeated in conference play with a 2-0 win over MIT on Saturday. The senior center back played all 90 minutes as the Beavers allowed just one shot while posting their second consecutive clean sheet. 
 
Women's Soccer
 
Offensive Athlete of the Week- Natalie Barnouw (GS, F), MIT
 
Graduate student Natalie Barnouw (Los Angeles, Calif.) helped the No. 11 MIT women's soccer team to a 3-0 week as she collected a goal and three assists during the weekend. In the Engineers' 4-0 win over Springfield, Barnouw had a goal and two assists. She followed that with an assist on the game-winning goal in MIT's 1-0 road win over No. 9 Williams. Barnouw currently leads the NEWMAC in points (31) and assists (9) and is tied for the conference lead with 11 goals on the season. 

Defensive Athlete of the Week- Riley McNair (Sr., GK), Wellesley College  
 
Senior Riley McNair (Cupertino, Calif.) had another stellar week, stopping all 12 shots faced without allowing a single goal against Emerson and Wheaton. With three saves against Emerson and nine in a win over Wheaton, McNair now has 197 career saves, 10th all-time in Blue program history. The senior is up to five shutouts this season and lowered the goals against average to 0.72.
 
Volleyball
 
Offensive Athlete of the Week- Elle Rimando (Sr., OH), Mount Holyoke College
 
Senior Elle Rimando (Mililani, Hawaii) led the Lyons to a 2-0 week, with 34 kills on a .375 attack percentage and seven service aces in just six sets. Rimando averaged 5.67 kills and 1.17 aces per set for the week. Rimando ranks second in the NEWMAC in both kills per set (3.86) and points per set (4.67), and fifth in the league in aces per set (0.63). In conference play, Rimando leads the NEWMAC with 4.06 kills per set.
 
Defensive Athlete of the Week- Alisa Munro (Fy., MB), Babson College
 
First year Alisa Munro (Sylmar, Calif.) totaled 11 blocks and averaged 1.83 blocks per set as Babson extended its winning streak to eight with a pair of road wins. The first-year middle blocker finished with four blocks in Tuesday's 3-0 victory at Emerson and followed it up with a season-high seven blocks in Friday's four-set triumph at Endicott. 
 
About the NEWMAC

The NEWMAC is an association of 12 selective academic institutions: Babson College, Clark University, U.S Coast Guard Academy, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mount Holyoke College, Salve Regina University, Smith College, Springfield College, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, that are committed to providing high quality competitive athletic opportunities for student-athletes within an educational and respectful environment that embodies the NCAA Division III Philosophy. The conference also partners with eight Associate Members: Brandeis University (Women's Lacrosse, 2026-2027), New York University (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), Norwich University (Football), Simmons College (Rowing), SUNY Maritime College (Football), SUNY New Paltz (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Football), and Vassar College (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), while sponsoring 20 sports.