Najwa Chouati Ends Career as Two Time All American

Stanislaus State alumna Najwa Chouati's final collegiate track season did not go as planned.

An All-American in the indoor 3,000-meter run in 2023, she had high expectations for the outdoor 2024 track season this past spring.

"It was more downs than ups," Chouati said. "My first track season with Stan State was outstanding. I was breaking records every single time, winning everything. I got All-American. I was unstoppable. I started my last season, and I was not running the times I wanted."

At the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Emporia, Kansas, last May, however, Chouati finished eighth in the 10,000-meter run to earn first-team Division II All-American status, awarded by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association and the NCAA.

"It was a long year," Chouati said. "I was putting in so much work. It wasn't going the way I expected. I was putting so much pressure on myself, having the last seasons, ending my master's degree (in criminal justice), thinking about what I was going to do after this. I think I should have just enjoyed myself and run."

In the end, that's what she did.

Chouati and teammate Kaela Dishion, a 2022 cross county All-American, trained together and set off as a tandem in the 10,000-meter run that May night in Kansas.

The Stan State veteran runners knew to stay back from the early pacesetters, who set off at blazing speeds they couldn't maintain through 25 laps.

"We were going to try to get out and be around the same bubble - sixth place, seventh place, maybe 12th place - and go with people," Chouati said.

That strategy worked until just before the 5,000-meter mark.

"I couldn't handle the pace anymore," Chouati said. "I was getting fatigued and had half the race left. I started feeling concerned. I had 13 laps to go, and I felt like I was dying."

Falling behind, Chouati ran with a runner from Adams State, hoping to stay at an even pace until the frontrunners began to falter.

"With a mile and a half to go, I just woke up and started feeling really good," Chouati said.

She finished eighth. The top 12 finishers earn All-American honors. The top eight stand on the podium.

"I was very, very happy," Chouati said.

"She took every challenge head-on, and her dedication to the sport, as well as to her teammates, was always evident. It was an honor to watch her transition from a promising athlete into an All-American. She has set a standard of excellence for those who will follow in her footsteps."

- Darren Holman, Stan State Cross County and Track and Field Coach

It was an extraordinary finish to a career that began when she left her home in Barcelona for Division II Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo.

An older brother had come to the United States to run, and Chouati hoped to join him at Division I University of Maryland Eastern Shore. That didn't work out, but Chouati still wanted to attend a university in the United States. Her parents agreed to send the youngest of their four children to the U.S., and she chose Lindenwood, where her brother had a friend pursuing a master's degree.

She knew one person, but barely knew the language, and she was unaccustomed to snow. While Barcelona is humid, it's nothing, Chouati said, compared to the Midwest.

She speaks Arabic - the language of her family, who immigrated 20 years ago to Spain from Morocco - Spanish and Catalan, the language of Barcelona, but then spoke limited English.

What she could do was run like the wind, something evident when she was 11 and joined a local club.

European universities don't offer athletics programs, and Chouati's brother encouraged her to come to an American university.

"He motivated me to go," she said. "He was so brave. Not having a degree, my parents had zero knowledge about going to another country to study."

They let her go, although she didn't have the athletics success she'd hoped for.

While preparing to graduate with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice, she looked at Division II programs where she could pursue a master's and complete her athletic eligibility. Any university located in a place with cold weather or humidity was out. Stan State suited her fine.

She credits the environment - talented teammates, especially Dishion - and the coaching of Darren Holman for her achievements.

"Najwa's growth as a runner has been nothing short of remarkable," Holman said. "When she first joined the team, it was clear she had talent, but what really set her apart was her willingness to embrace the training and push herself beyond her comfort zone. I remember those early days on the cross country team when she, alongside Kaela, began to realize her potential. The camaraderie and competitive spirit within that group played a significant role in her development, and it's evident that the experience left a lasting impact on her."

Chouati nearly joined Dishion in 2022 as a cross country All-American by finishing in the top 40 at the championships.

"I was an All-American until the last kilometer," Chouati said. "I was so mad. It didn't work out. I could taste it. I got angry and it motivated me to work even harder for the next track season."

Chouati established school records in the 5,000- and 10,000-meter races and qualified for the 2023 indoor nationals in the 3,000-meters and her best event, the 5,000.

"I didn't perform as well in the 5K, and that just broke everything," Chouati said. "I had to run the 3K the next day. It didn't matter. I just wanted to survive."

She finished seventh to earn her first All-American title.

"I was in disbelief," Chouati said. "The next day, to wake up and see the trophy. Those small moments make all those hours you put in worth it. It makes you want to do more."

She would get one more All-American title.

She also earned a master's in criminal justice and was named an NCAA Division II Track & Field All-Academic Athlete.

"What stands out most about Najwa is her resilience and her drive to continuously improve," Holman said. "She took every challenge head-on, and her dedication to the sport, as well as to her teammates, was always evident. It was an honor to watch her transition from a promising athlete into an All-American. She has set a standard of excellence for those who will follow in her footsteps."

Chouati has returned to Barcelona, where she is enjoying being back among family before she decides what to do with her degree. She is thinking about becoming a road racer, with a possible goal of running the marathon in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

"I'll try it for a year and see how it goes," Chouati said.

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