Jefferson, Szabo named 2013-14 RMAC March Athletes of the Month
Brandon Jefferson, Metro State, men's basketball ... Barbara Szabo, Western State, women's indoor track & field
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Brandon Jefferson of Metropolitan State University of Denver and Barbara Szabo of Western State Colorado University have been named the 2013-14 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Athletes of the Month for March 2014. The league's 14 sports information directors nominate student-athletes from their institution which are then selected by the RMAC office staff.
Brandon Jefferson was named national player of the year by all three publications award out that honor - the National Association of Basketball Coaches, Daktronics and Division II Bulletin. He also earned RMAC Player of the Year and named to the RMAC Shootout all-tournament team and the NCAA South Central Regional tournament Most Outstanding Player. For the month, Jefferson averaged 23.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.6 steals. He broke Metro State’s single-season records for points, points per game, free throw percentage and free throws as well. In three games at the RMAC Shootout, he averaged 18.7 points and shot 52.4 percent from 3-point range. In five NCAA tournament games, Jefferson averaged 25.8 points and 3.0 steals, while shooting 94.9 percent (56-of-59) at the free throw line. He scored a career-high 37 points in Metro State’s win over UC-Colorado Springs in the first round of the NCAA tournament and had 30 in a second-round win over Colorado Mines. This is Jefferson's second RMAC Athlete of the Month award during the 2013-14 academic year, after his January 2014 honor.
Barbara Szabo won her fourth consecutive national indoor high jump title on March 15, 2014, becoming just the third woman in Division II indoor history to win four championships in a single event. With an indoor mark of 1.91-meters (6’ 3.25”), Szabo finished the 2014 indoor season as the all-divisions collegiate leader. Szabo won the NCAA Division II title with a mark of 6-2 (1.88m), which would have claimed the Division I title the same day. Only four other collegiate women in 2014 have cleared or bettered her NCAA-winning height. Szabo also earned RMAC titles in the women’s high jump and women’s triple jump at the 2014 indoor conference championships, giving her nine conference titles in her career. On March 19, Szabo was named the women's NCAA Division II Indoor National Field Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) and on March 3, Szabo was named the RMAC Women’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Year. Since March 6, Szabo has been receiving votes on the “Bowerman Watch List,” for the most outstanding female collegiate track and field athletes in the nation. Szabo is the only Division II athlete to appear on the list in 2014. Szabo becomes the first-ever RMAC student-athlete to win the Athlete of the Month award four times.
Men's Top Performers from March
Carson Aberle, UC-Colorado Springs – Indoor Track and Field
Ray Hall, CSU-Pueblo – Wrestling
Alex Herrera, Fort Lewis – Basketball
Austin Kaiser, Colorado Mesa – Baseball
Carlton Lavong, Adams State – Indoor Track and Field
Michael Lee, Colorado Mines – Golf
David Metz, Western New Mexico – Golf
Brad Thoutt, Regis – Baseball
Women's Top Performers from March
Jessica Belsterling, UC-Colorado Springs – Softball
Cassie Ford, Colorado Mines – Softball
Gianna Lombardi, Regis – Lacrosse
Ariel Lopez, CSU-Pueblo – Softball
Mary Othon, Western New Mexico, Softball
Chelsea Rodriguez, Fort Lewis – Softball
Sharaya Selsor, Colorado Mesa – Basketball
2013-14 RMAC Athletes of the Month
March - Brandon Jefferson, Metro State (men's basketball) & Barbara Szabo, Western State (women's indoor track & field)
February - Salcia Slack, New Mexico Highlands (indoor track and field) & Derrick White, UC- Colorado Springs (basketball)
January- Salcia Slack, New Mexico Highlands (indoor track and field) & Brandon Jefferson, Metro State (basketball)
December - Mannie Cass, New Mexico Highlands (basketball) & Sharaya Selsor, Colorado Mesa (basketball)
November - Sharaya Selsor, Colorado Mesa (basketball) & Tabor Stevens, Adams State (cross country)
October - Glen Clinton, Chadron State (football) & Melanie Wannamaker, Colorado Mines (volleyball)
September - Leina Kim, CSU-Pueblo (golf) & Matt Brown, Colorado Mines (football)
All-Time RMAC Athletes of the Month