COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference announced its 2022 Women’s Lacrosse individual awards and all-conference rosters on Wednesday. Regis’ Kylie Peoples was named the league’s Attacker of the Year, while her teammate Sarah Kate Dhom was crowned the RMAC Defender of the Year. Colorado Mesa’s Ali Bryant was awarded the conference’s Midfielder and Freshman of the Year honors. Fort Lewis’ Averi Basso and University of Colorado Colorado Springs’ Madison McGriff share the Goalie of the Year award. Regis head coach Sarah Kellner was voted the RMAC Coach of the Year.
Peoples is the Attacker of the Year after closing out the regular season with a league-best 44 goals and 66 points. The Castle Rock, Colo., native has started in 15 games for the Rangers and has also added 22 assists along with her scoring efforts. Her 66 goals have come on just 77 shots, earning her an efficient .571 shooting percentage throughout the regular season.
Bryant captures a pair of individual awards, Midfielder of the Year and Freshman of the Year, after bursting onto the scene with 16 goals and 16 starts for the Mavericks this season. She also added in eight assists to close the Mavs’ regular-season schedule with 24 points and 28 shots on goal. Bryant has picked up 25 ground balls and caused 17 turnovers ahead of postseason play. The freshman played a key role in pushing the Mavericks to a 12-5 overall record, a 10-2 mark in RMAC play and the No. 2 seed in the upcoming conference tournament.
Dhom is the Defender of the Year after leading a Regis defense that has limited opponents to 5.8 goals per game. She ranks first in the RMAC and 18th in the country with 2.07 caused turnovers per contest throughout the season. Further, she is averaging 2.07 ground balls per game to help keep the Rangers attack moving.
Fort Lewis’ Averi Basso and UCCS’ Madison McGriff are the RMAC Co-Goalies of the Year after bolstering their respective teams in the net. Basso currently ranks first in the RMAC and 17th in the nation for saves (154) in 15 appearances for the Skyhawks. A junior from Lake Oswego, Ore., Basso also stands 15th nationally in saves per game (10.27) and holds a .421 save percentage. Basso and the Skyhawks closed the RMAC schedule with a 5-7 record and obtained the No. 4 seed at the upcoming conference tournament.
McGriff adds to her already prolific trophy case with yet another award after closing the regular season with 122 saves for the Mountain Lions. The Lakewood, Colo., native ranks 16th in the country with a .464 save percentage and 18th nationally with a 10.49 goals-against average. She was named the RMAC Defensive Player of the Week on four occasions this season and was also named the 2022 RMAC Women’s Lacrosse Academic Player of the Year. McGriff and the Mountain Lions have earned the No. 3 seed at the RMAC Tournament.
After leading the Rangers to an unbeaten record in conference play, Kellner was voted the RMAC Coach of the Year for the fifth time in her career. Under her guidance, the Rangers enter the postseason ranked third in the nation with an impressive 17-0 overall record. Regis outscored opponents 249-87 throughout the season while averaging 14.7 goals per game. Kellner’s squad ranks fourth in the nation for caused turnovers (13.3), scoring defense (5.8) and scoring margin (10.8). The Rangers also rank fifth nationally with 35.3 shots per game.
In addition to the league’s superlatives, the RMAC also announced its women’s lacrosse all-conference rosters, which feature 24 student-athletes among two teams. Regis leads the way with nine all-conference honorees, including five first-teamers and four second-teamers. Colorado Mesa boasts four first team selections and three second-team honorees for a total of seven all-conference recipients. UCCS notches five selections, three on the first team and two on the second team, followed by two honorees from Fort Lewis. Colorado State University Pueblo rounds out the all-conference rosters with one selection.
RMAC individual awards and all-conference rosters are nominated and voted on by the league’s seven head coaches.
The 2022 RMAC Women’s Lacrosse is slated to begin Friday, May 6, at Regis Lacrosse Field in Denver, Colo. Tournament play is slated to begin with game one at 4 p.m. (MT), featuring No. 2 seed Colorado Mesa versus third-seeded UCCS. Top-seeded Regis will host No. 4 seed Fort Lewis in Friday’s nightcap, beginning at 7 p.m. Winners of Friday’s semifinal round will square off in the championship game, which will be played Sunday, May 8, at noon.
For the latest results and other tournament information, fans can head to the
2022 RMAC Women’s Lacrosse Tournament page.