Big Honors for Auburn Track's Makanakaishe Charamba and Israel Okon

The Auburn Tigers men's track team swept the runner of the year awards in the SEC.

Auburn Daily Staff | Mar 19, 2025

Auburn's Makanakaishe Charamba was named 2025 SEC Runner of the Year. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Auburn track and field senior Makanakaishe Charamba and freshman Israel Okon were selected as the 2025 SEC Men’s Runner of the Year and SEC Men’s Freshman Runner of Year, respectively, the conference office announced Wednesday.

Charamba, an Olympic finalist in Paris last summer for Zimbabwe, won the SEC individual title in the 200m with a time of 20.13. His time was the fastest indoor 200m in the world this year and the world’s seventh fastest ever. He broke the SEC Indoor Championships meet record as well as the Texas A&M facility record. Charamba’s win in the event was Auburn’s first since American Olympian Coby Miller won in 2000.

Charamba holds the five fastest 200m times in Auburn history and is the program’s first-ever male SEC runner of the year (indoors or outdoors)

“Charamba had an amazing season,” Auburn track & field head coach Leroy Burrell said. “To finish the season with three competitions under 20.20 is some outstanding running. It is something that you do not see often with the indoor 200m.”

Competing in his first conference championships, Okon ran 6.51 in the preliminary round of the men’s 60m dash. Okon matched the 24-year-old World U20 Record ran by Mark Lewis-Francis of Great Britian in 2001. He had the fastest qualifying time during the prelims,
tied for the fastest time in the NCAA this year and broke the Auburn freshman record. In finals, Okon claimed silver (6.55).

Charamba was named First Team All-SEC and Okon to Second Team All-SEC. The men finished sixth overall, the highest team finish since 2013 and the most points (47) since 2011.

At their last outing, Charamba and Okon competed at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in Virginia, Beach, Virgina, where both were awarded First Team distinctions and helped lead the men to a third-place finish.

Charamba took silver in the 200m (20.16), delivering the program’s best finish since Coby Miller won the individual title in 1999.

Okon finished second overall in the 60m, crossing in 6.52. He was Auburn’s first freshman to run in the 60m at the indoor championships since Harry Adams in 2010.

Okon is Auburn’s second consecutive indoor freshman of the year. Kayinsola Ajayi was selected last indoor season.

SEC Athlete of the Year awards were voted on by the league’s head coaches.

Up Next

The Tigers will open the outdoor season at the Yellow Jacket Invitational, March 21-22, in Atlanta, Georgia at the George C. Griffin Track.

2025 SEC Indoor Track & Field Awards

Men's Runner of the Year
Makanakaishe Charamba, Auburn

Men's Field Athlete of the Year
Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan, Ole Miss

Men's Newcomer Runner of the Year
Will Floyd, Georgia

Men's Newcomer Field Athlete of the Year
Trey Bartholomew, Oklahoma

Men's Freshman Runner of the Year
Israel Okon, Auburn

Men's Freshman Field Athlete of the Year
Jonathan Seremes, Missouri

Men's Coach of the Year
Pat Henry, Texas A&M