Outdoor #RMACtf All-Conference Release
All-Conference Release
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference announced the Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field major awards and All-RMAC teams on Thursday.
On the men’s side, student-athletes Triston Sisneros (CSM), Alec Baldwin (BHSU), Jurgen Themen (ASU), Damarcus Simpson (CSC) earned major awards.
For the women, Mekayla Winchester (CMU), Georgia Porter (WSCU), and Shelby Bozner (CSC) are the major award winners.
The All-RMAC First Team is comprised of the first two (2) place winners in individual events and the first place team in relay events. Second Team all-conference is comprised of the third and fourth place finishers in individual events and the second place team in relay events.
The league’s head coaches vote on all major awards at the end of the RMAC Championships.
Colorado Mines’ Triston Sisneros was the 2016 RMAC Outdoor Track and Field champion in the 110-meter hurdles and 400-meter hurdles. In the men’s 110-meter hurdles he set a new personal-best time of 14.29-seconds. The freshman from Aurora, Colorado also ran the 400-meter hurdles in 52.15-seconds. Sisneros time is third fastest in program history and ninth in the nation. The freshman also earned Men’s Co-Athletes of the Meet at the RMAC Championships.
Alec Baldwin from Black Hills State and Jurgen Themen from Adams State earned Men’s Track Co-Athletes of the Year.
Baldwin won the 5,000-meter run at the RMAC Championships with a time of 14:50.04. He also added a silver medal as he placed second in the 1500-meter run (3:54.12). The senior from Spirit Lake, Iowa was a 2015 Outdoor Track and Field All-American in the 1500-meter and finished fourth at the 2015 NCAA Championships.
Jurgen Themen won both the 100 and 200-meter dash titles at conference championships and set a new RMAC record with a time of 10.20 in the 100-meter final.
Chadron State’s Damarcus Simpson won the men’s long jump with a mark of 7.82. Simpson took bronze in the 100-meter dash finals at the RMAC Championships and he was a member of the 4x100-meter relay that placed second. The sophomore holds the school record in long jump, triple jump and the 60-meter dash. He also is the RMAC record holder for indoor long jump. Simpson was also named Field Athlete of the Year for indoor season, earlier this year.
Adams State head coach Rock Light finished his third season with the Grizzlies and was named RMAC Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Coach of the Year. Last season, 15 Grizzlies were named to the USTFCCCA All-American list; nine of them received First Team honors under his coaching.
Freshman Mekayla Winchester from Colorado Mesa was named RMAC Freshman of the Year after taking bronze in the 100-meter hurdles. She set a new school record with a time of 14.29-seconds.
Junior Georgia Porter from Western State received RMAC Women’s Track Athlete of the Year. Porter was the 2016 RMAC Champion in the 1500-meter and 5000-meter run. Her time of 4:29.03 in the 1500-meters places her seventh in school history. Her 5000-meter time was 17:22.52.
Shelby Bozner garnered RMAC Field Athlete of the Year for the Chadron State Eagles. The senior was a member of the winning 4x100m relay team at the conference championships. Bozner is also the RMAC Champion in the 100-meter hurdles title with a time of 14.05-seconds. She took third in the 400-meter hurdles with a new program record of 59.71. The veteran added two more bronze medals in javelin and the 4x400m relay. The Rock Springs, Wyoming native is ranked second in the nation for the women’s heptathlon with 5313 points and will make her second career trip to outdoor nationals.
Earning Women’s Coach of the Year is Chadron State’s Brad Gamble. Gamble has been on the Eagles’ coaching staff since fall of 2011. During that time, he has coached several All-Americans, over 33 RMAC champions and guided the Eagles to three-runner up finishes and their first-ever RMAC Championship title. In 2014 he was named head coach for the track and field and cross country programs.
Awards
RMAC Men’s Freshman of the Year: Triston Sisneros, Colorado Mines
RMAC Men’s Track Co-Athletes of the Year: Alec Baldwin, Black Hills State and Jurgen Themen, Adams State
RMAC Men’s Field Athlete of the Year: Damarcus Simpson, Chadron State
RMAC Men’s Coach of the Year: Rock Light, Adams State
RMAC Women’s Freshman of the Year: Mekayla Winchester, Colorado Mesa
RMAC Women’s Track Athlete of the Year: Georgia Porter, Western State
RMAC Women’s Field Athlete of the Year: Shelby Bozner, Chadron State
RMAC Women’s Coach of the Year: Brad Gamble, Chadron State