Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Announces Women’s Indoor Track and Field Major Awards

3/8/2023 2:00:00 PM

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference announced its 2022-23 Women’s Indoor Track and Field Major Awards and All-Conference rosters Wednesday. Headlining the postseason distinctions are Colorado School of Mines’ Zoe Baker as the Track Athlete of the Year and Hannah Miller as the Field Athlete of the Year. Colorado Mesa’s Jordan Burnett claims Freshman of the Year honors, while Mines’ Matt Sparks earns Coach of the Year distinctions.

Baker claims the league’s top track honor after earning a trio of provisional marks in the 5,000-meter, 3,000m and mile events for the Orediggers earlier this season. The Longmont, Colo., native stands third on the NCAA Division II performance list in the 5,000m event after a 16:17.62 effort at the 2023 Boston University David Hemery Valentine Invite (Feb. 10). She stamped a first-place finish in the mile at the Colorado Invitational (Jan. 27) with a time of 4:56.96, converted for track size and altitude, which stands 24th on the NCAA DII performance list. She also ranks 16th in the nation with her time of 9:28.54 at the Mines Winter Classic and Multi (Feb. 3). Baker also earned United States Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association All-Region honors.

Miller earns RMAC Field Athlete of the Year after a stellar indoor season for the Orediggers where she earned first-team all-conference accolades in the pole vault. She currently ranks third on the NCAA DII performance list with a mark of 4.16m (13-7.75 ft) in the Mines Classic and Multi. Miller earned first-team all-conference honors with a first-place finish at the RMAC Indoor Track and Field Championships, where she cleared the bar at 4.13m (13-6.5 ft) in the pole vault. Ahead of the national meet, the senior earned USTFCCCA All-Region honors in the pole vault.

Burnett claims RMAC Freshman of the Year after bursting onto the scene for the Mavericks with a pair of first-place finishes in the 200m dash and the 400m race at February’s RMAC Indoor Championships. She ranks among the nation’s top-25 in the 200m dash with her time of 24.33, which she set at the conference meet (Feb. 24). The Fairplay, Colo., native ranks 14th on the NCAA DII performance list in the 400m race with a mark of 55.0, which she also set at the league championships.

Colorado School of Mines head coach Matt Sparks was named the RMAC Women’s Coach of the Year after leading the Orediggers to their first indoor conference title in program history. Sparks’ women’s team currently ranks ninth in the latest USTFCCCA poll and is comprised of seven USTFCCCA All-Region selections.

RMAC Indoor Track and Field Major Awards are voted on by the league’s head coaches. Coaches are not permitted to vote for themselves or their student-athletes. The league’s all-conference teams are determined by finishes at the RMAC Indoor Championships. Top-three finishers in each individual race are named first-team selections, while the fourth, fifth and sixth-place finishers are tabbed second-team selections. For relay events, the first-place team is named the first team and the second-place team is named the second team.

RMAC Women’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Year: Zoe Baker, Colorado School of Mines
RMAC Women’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Year: Hannah Miller, Colorado School of Mines
RMAC Women’s Indoor Track and Field Freshman of the Year: Jordan Burnett, Colorado Mesa
RMAC Women’s Indoor Track and Field Coach of the Year: Matt Sparks, Colorado School of Mines

2022-23 RMAC Women’s All-Conference First Team

Event	Name	Name	Name
60m Dash	Audrey Bloomquist, UCCS	Victoria Farinas, UCCS	Brittany Fuchs, UCCS
60m Hurdles	Missy Moreni, UCCS	Maya Ries, MSU Denver	Faith Novess, UCCS
200m Dash	Jordan Burnett, CMU	Sierra Arceneaux, CMU	Breanne Fuller, BHSU
400m Dash	Jordan Burnett, CMU	Kaiya Firor, WCU	Amena Nelson, Mines
800m Run	Helen Braybrook, CSU Pueblo	Josii Johnson, WC	Rachel O’Brien, ASU
Mile	Maggie McCleskey, ASU	Kate Hedlund, UCCS	Morgan Hykes, ASU
3,000m Run	Katie Doucette, WCU	Zoe Baker, Mines	Precious Robinson, ASU
5,000m Run	Kira MacGill, CMU	Zoe Baker, Mines	Emily Schoellkopf, ASU
4x400m Relay	A.Nelson, G.Galvin, R.Higashi, A.Wright, Mines
Distance Medley Relay	S. Cotter, J. Simon, N. Lawrence, B. Robles, ASU
Weight Throw	Kyla Sawvell, CSC	Anna Holland, UCCS	Ali Aldrich, WCU
Pole Vault	Hannah Miller, Mines	Avery Herbold, Mines	Dale Thompson, Mines
Long Jump	Lexye Wood, Mines	Chisom Obioha, NMHU	Audrey Bloomquist, UCCS
High Jump	Ahshareah Enoe, NMHU	Samantha Bretz, WCU	Jourdaine Cerenil, CSC
Triple Jump	Audrey Bloomquist, UCCS	Kiana Jackson, CMU	Eireann Donohoe, WCU
Shot Put	Katherine Higgins, CSU Pueblo	Kyla Sawvell, CSC	Ali Aldrich, WCU
Pentathlon	Mica Jenrette, CMU	Faith Noess, UCCS	Jordan Brockman, CMU

2022-23 RMAC Women’s All-Conference Second Team

Event	Name	Name	Name
60m Dash	Sierra Arceneaux, CMU	Breanne Fuller, BHSU	Avry Kennison, CMU
60m Hurdles	Jordan Brockman, CMU	Avery Wright, Mines	Averie Griffith, CMU
200m Dash	Keyanda Bolton, UCCS	Kaiya Firor, WCU	Carlie Collier, CSC
400m Dash	Grace Galvin, Mines	Randi Higashi, Mines	Kelia Portis, WCU
800m Run	Aryelle Wright, Mines	Kate Hedlund, UCCS	Lieke Hoogsteen, ASU
Mile	Anna Fauske, UCCS	Clare Peters, Mines	Amalia Dorion, ASU
3,000m Run	Allison Beasley, WCU	Molly Maskin, Mines	Jenna Ramsey, Mines
5,000m Run	Jenna Ramsey, Mines	Brin Strouse, Mines	Holly Moser, Mines
4x400m Relay	J.Simon, R.O’Brien, L.Hoogsteen, N.Lawrence, ASU
Distance Medley Relay	A.Fauske, A.Lopez, M.Hewitt, K.Hedlund, UCCS
Weight Throw	Olivia Mikaelian, CSU Pueblo	Courtney Smith, CSC	Kaitlyn Scott, NMHU
Pole Vault	Gabbi Varela, Mines	Brianna Spencer, UCCS	Kamryn Scully, SDM
Long Jump	Faith Novess, UCCS	Taeryn Trumper, CMU	Eireann Donohoe, WCU
High Jump	Josie Coffey, CMU	Faith Novess, UCCS	Mikayla Jones, CSU Pueblo
Triple Jump	Claire Kintzley, Mines	Kathryn Carroll, UCCS	Cora Olson, WCU
Shot Put	Febe Wessels, CSU Pueblo	Jaycie Stubbs, SDM	Kitt Rupar, Mines
Pentathlon	Avery Wright, Mines	Maggie Remsberg, UCCS	Katie Thomson, CMU