Naukot Named Student-Athlete of the Week

February 17, 2025 11:27 AM | Baseball, General, Golf, Men's Swimming & Diving, Rifle, Women's Basketball, Gymnastics, Women's Swimming & Diving, Tennis, Track & Field, Wrestling

VSR February 17, 2025

By: Elizabeth Stash

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – After becoming the fastest Mountaineer in program history to compete in the women's 5,000 meters, freshman Joy Naukot of the West Virginia University track and field team has been named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week, presented by University Apartments.

Naukot set the record after boasting a personal best time of 15:36.87 in the event at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational on Feb. 15 at the Track and Tennis Center in Boston, Massachusetts.

With the time, the freshman earned an 18^th place finish and broke a 15-year-old record. Naukot surpasses alumna Marie Louise Asselin, who has held the record since 2010. Asselin collected a time of 15:50.53 in the 5k at the NCAA Indoor Championships, where she finished as the national runner up.

The Kapenguria, Kenya, native now holds the third fastest time in the Big 12 conference in the event, fourth fastest in the Mid-Atlantic region and is tabbed at No. 25 nationally.

WVU will conclude its regular season competition on Feb. 21 when the Mountaineers will send split squads to the Terrier DMR Challenge/Last Chance Meet and the Penn State Tune-Up. The Terrier DMR Challenge/Last Chance Meet will be held at the Track and Tennis Center in Boston, Massachusetts while the Penn State Tune-Up will take place at the Multi-Sport Facility & Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track in University Park, Pennsylvania.

This Week in Women's Basketball: The Mountaineers open the week on Monday, Feb. 17, against No. 14 Kansas State inside the WVU Coliseum … tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET and will be the Mountaineers fourth nationally televised game of the season and second on FOX … the Mountaineers then hit the road to take on No. 11 TCU in Fort Worth, Texas on Sunday, Feb. 22 … Tipoff is scheduled for Noon ET … the game will also be nationally televised, airing on ESPN2.

Last Week in Women's Basketball: The Mountaineers moved to 20-5 on the season and 10-4 in Big 12 Conference play dropping a game on the road and picking up the programs 15^th straight home win … The Mountaineers fell to No. 25 Baylor, 75-65, on the road inside Foster Pavillion on Tuesday, Feb. 11 … junior Jordan Harrison led WVU with 20 points … the Mountaineers got back in the win column on Saturday, Feb. 15, when the defeated Cincinnati, 69-50, inside the WVU Coliseum … senior JJ Quinerly scored a game-high 29 points in the win.

Notes: WVU returns eight student-athletes to the floor this season, including four of five starters from an NCAA Tournament team a season ago … All-Big 12 First Team and Defensive Team selection JJ Quinerly highlights the returners … She was also named to the Preseason All-Big 12 team and was named to the Naismith College Women's Basketball Player of the Year, the 2025 Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Watchlist and the Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 Watchlist … Jordan Harrison was named to the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year watchlist … Quinerly has eclipsed 1,500 points in her career this season as Harrison and Zya Nugent have broken the 1,000-point mark... the Mountaineers finished the nonconference schedule a 10-1 … JJ Quinerly is third on the program's all-time steals list and 9th in the Big 12 Conference all time standings … she also ranks sixth in the programs history for all time points scored … WVU is a perfect 14-0 when playing games inside the WVU Coliseum … WVU is in search collected its 20th 20+ win season in program history against UC.

This Week in Wrestling: West Virginia wraps up the season against Arizona State on Sunday, Feb. 23, at 2 p.m. at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown ... the match will serve as Greg Jones Day, alumni day and senior day.

Last Week in Wrestling: The Mountaineers were off.

Notes: Four Mountaineers appeared in the second edition of the coaches' ranking and three appeared in the first Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) for the 2025 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships ... senior Jett Strickenberger, fifth-year Peyton Hall, redshirt sophomore Brody Conley and redshirt senior Dennis Robin represented WVU in the rankings ... Strickenberger was No. 11 in the 125-pound weight class, Hall was No. 4 in the 165-pound weight class, Conley was No. 23 at 174 pounds and Robin was No. 22 at 184 pounds ... Hall, Conley and Robin also appeared in the first RPI for the wrestling championships ... Hall was No. 2 at 165 pounds, Conley was No. 20 and Robin was 14 ... these rankings are one of several criteria evaluated by the selection committee ... the other criteria considered include head-to-head competition, quality wins, conference tournament placement, results versus common opponents and win percentage.

This Week in Gymnastics: WVU returns to the west coast to compete at Arizona State for the first time as Big 12 Conference opponents ... competition inside ASU's Desert Financial Arena in Tempe, Arizona, is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET.

Last Week in Gymnastics: West Virginia reached a season-high road score in a Big 12 Conference dual meet at BYU, finishing second to the Cougars inside the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah, on Feb. 14 ... the Mountaineers secured a 195.0 team score, while BYU scored a 195.675 to finish first ... WVU tallied scores of 48.875 on vault, 48.475 on the uneven bars, 48.55 on balance beam and 49.1 on floor exercise ... in the final event rankings, freshman Emerson Smith tied for third place on vault with a career-best 9.825 ... junior Carlee Nelson also secured a career-best mark on vault with a 9.8 ... senior Brooke Alban tied for third on bars after matching her season high with a 9.8 ... sophomore Kaylei Adams finished in a tie for third on beam after scoring a 9.8 ... senior Anna Leigh took home the top spot on floor with a 9.925.

Notes: The Mountaineers reached their first score of 195.0 or higher on the road this season against BYU, while it also marked their second 195.0+ score of the year ... Leigh's first-place finish on floor exercise marked her second win on the event this season ... in this week's Road to Nationals rankings, West Virginia is ranked No. 37 nationally on floor exercise and No. 50 overall in the first week of rankings determined by National Qualifying Scores (NQS) ... elsewhere, WVU ranks No. 51on vault, No. 45 on bars and No. 53 on beam ... individually, Leigh ranks No. 33 nationally on floor with an NQS of 9.865 ... she also ranks No. 3 in the southeast region and No. 5 in the Big 12 ... on bars, fifth-year senior Trinity Macy ranks No. 18 in the region and in the conference, while senior Brooke Alban ranks No. 25 regionally and No. 22 in the Big 12 ... on beam, sophomores Julia Brown ranks No. 18 in the region and the conference, while Adams ranks No. 23 regionally and No. 22 in the league.

This Week in Swimming and Diving: West Virginia does not compete again until the 2025 Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championships ... this year's conference title meet takes place at Weyerhaeuser Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington, from Feb. 25-March 1.

Last Week in Swimming and Diving: The Mountaineers were off.

This Week in Rifle: The Mountaineers begin postseason competition on Saturday when they host the NCAA Qualifier at the Bill McKenzie Mobile Rifle Range inside the WVU Shell Building … WVU will compete alongside VMI with the match scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. ET.

Last Week in Rifle: West Virginia did not compete.

Notes: The Mountaineers have won 26 straight regular season matches … Jon Hammond collected his 200th career win against No. 5 Georgia Southern … West Virginia's 4743.1 aggregate score is the second best in the nation … the 2356.4 mark in smallbore is the best in the nation while the 2386.6 in air rifle sits second … senior Gavin Barnick leads WVU in aggregate (1187.2), smallbore (590.5), and air rifle (596.7) … he ranks fourth, sixth and fifth in the nation in each category.

This Week in Tennis: West Virginia hosts Marshall for its final nonconference match of the season on Sunday, Feb. 23, at 10 a.m. at Summit Tennis Academy in Morgantown.

Last Week in Tennis: The Mountaineers swept Toledo and Temple to extend their win streak to four matches.

Notes: West Virginia opened with a strong start against Toledo, winning the doubles point with ease ... the pairing of freshman Lyla Byers and senior Mille Haagensen won the No. 1 seed match, 6-3 ... the doubles team comprised of redshirt junior Maja Dodik and senior Michaela Kucharova cruised in the No. 2 spot, winning, 6-2 ... in singles play, the Mountaineers remained on a roll. Haagensen and Bousseau each earned wins in their respective matches .... Bousseau trailed, 5-1, in the first set, but quickly rallied to win the set, 7-5 ... in the second set, she dominated Toledo's Gaby Rondon to win the match.

This week in Track and Field: The Mountaineers conclude the regular season by sending split squads to Boston, Mass. and University Park, Pennsylvania on Feb. 21 ... the Terrier DMR Challenge/Last Chance Meet will be held at the Track & Tennis Center in Boston, while the Penn State Tune-Up will take place at the Multi-Sport Facility & Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track in University Park.

Last week in Track and Field: West Virginia competed at both the Eagle Elite and David Hemery Valentine Invitational on Feb. 14-15 in Boston, Mass. ... Friday's Eagle Elite was highlighted by stellar performances from graduate student Ceili McCabe and Sarah Tait ... McCabe earned a second-place finish in the women's mile while collecting a season best time of 4:29.86, marking her second fastest time in the event ... Tait boasted a career best time of 8:59.73 in the 3,000 meters, remaining third on WVU's indoor all-time list ... on Saturday, freshman Joy Naukot became the fastest Mountaineer in program history to compete in the 5,000 meters, after posting a time of 15:36.87.

Notes: Naukot's 15:36.87 5,000 meter broke a program record that has been held since 2010 by Marie Louise Asselin ... Asselin's previous record time of 15:50.53 came after she finished as the national runner-up in the event at the 2010 NCAA Indoor Championship ... Naukot now holds the third fastest time in the Big 12 in the 5,000 meters, fourth fastest in the Mid-Atlantic Region and is No. 25 in the event nationally.

This week in Golf: West Virginia will return to action on Monday, Feb. 24 at the Lake Las Vegas Intercollegiate in Lake Las Vegas, Nevada … the Mountaineers last appeared in this event in 2022, winning the event by shooting 28-under-par.

Last Week in Golf: The golf team completed its second tournament of the spring season this weekend at the Gators Invitational in Gainesville, Florida … senior Max Green paced the Mountaineers with rounds of 73-70-71=214 (+4) to tie for 26th place … Kaleb Wilson finished one stroke behind Green, tying for 32nd place with rounds of 68-68-79=215 (+5) … Todd Duncan tied for 45th place with rounds of 74-69-75=218 (+8), Carson Kammann recorded rounds of 75-73-75=223 (+13) and Pierce Grieve shot 77-79-81=237 (+27) … freshman Ryan Leach competed as an individual and tied for 38th place with rounds of 75-69-73=217 (+7) … the Mountaineers finished the Gators Invitational in 12th place with scores of 290-280-300=870 (+30).

This week in Baseball: West Virginia is back this weekend for a series at Lipscomb ... series is set to get started on Friday at 4 p.m. followed by games on Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. ... schedule is subject to change due to weather.

Last week in Baseball: The Mountaineers opened the season with three-game sweep at Jacksonville ... WVU won the opener by a score of 4-2 on Friday night before sweeping a doubleheader on Saturday, winning game one, 10-3, and game two, 3-2 ... in the game one victory, four different players drove in runs while senior Griffin Kirn earned the win with 5.2 innings of one-run ball while allowing just one hit and striking out five ... in game two, junior Skylar King and senior Brodie Kresser each had three hits ... King finished the game with three RBI while junior catcher Logan Sauve drove in two ... junior Carson Estridge struck out four in 4.2 innings of relief to earn the win ... in the final game, King had the only two hits of the game for the Mountaineers, including a two-run home run ... junior Gavin Van Kempen struck out six in 4.0 innings to earn the win ... senior Reese Bassinger tossed 2.2 scoreless innings with four strikeouts to earn his second save of the weekend.

NOTES: Head coach Steve Sabins earned his first win as the 20th head coach in program history ... he is the first WVU baseball coach to begin his tenure 3-0 since Ira Errett Rodgers in 1921 ... it is the first time since 2022 and just the second time in the last 13 years that the Mountaineers have started the season with three straight wins ... King had the D1Baseball Big 12 Performance of the Day on Saturday after going 5-for-7 with a home run, a triple, and five RBI in the doubleheader ... it is the first road sweep of a non-conference opponent since taking three from UNC Greensboro in 2023.