National Athlete of the Week

Teddy Purdon from Brookdale Community College Named National Athlete of the Week

The United States Track & Field and Cross-Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) released their National Athletes of the Week for all divisions in both NCAA and NJCAA for the week of October 11th, 2021. Brookdale Community College Freshman Theodore Purdon, from Little Silver, NJ, was chosen to be on the elite list.

National Athlete of the Week is an award selected and presented by the USTFCCCA Communications Staff at the beginning of each week to 12 collegiate cross-country athletes, when applicable (male and female for each of the three NCAA divisions and the NJCAA).

The award seeks to highlight the very best times, marks and scores on a week-to-week basis, band performances that were significant on the national landscape or the latest in a series of solid outings. Quality of competition, suspenseful finishes, and other factors will also play a role in the decision.

Leading the Community College ranks region, Teddy Purdon keeps moving up in the NJCAA Division III Men. He was impressive in the Delaware Invitational, finishing third in 28:12.0 for 8k to earn top-collegiate honors by 0.8 seconds. It was the bests finish of the year for Purdon, who leads the fifth-ranked Jersey Blues.

“We are so proud of you, Teddy! So. Amazingly. Proud. Keep working hard and being a beacon for the #UnconquerableSoul #MementoLatro,” said Red Bank Regional High School Cross Country Coach McGoldrick.” Teddy was an essential part of our program’s success for four years and the namesake behind one of our teams’ highest awards, the Teddy Purdon Unconquerable Soul award!

Purdon is the first athlete from Brookdale to be named National Athlete of the Week in cross country.