Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference announced its 2023-24 Women’s Indoor Track & Field Major Awards alongside its all-conference rosters on Wednesday. Colorado School of Mines’ Hannah Miller and University of Colorado Colorado Springs’ Audrey Bloomquist take home Field Athlete of the Year honors, while New Mexico Highlands’ Ashley Barrett and Adams State’s Gracie Hyde claim Track Athlete of the Year awards. Barrett also claims the Freshman of the Year title. Colorado School of Mines’ head coach, Matt Sparks, named Women’s Indoor Track & Field Coach of the Year.

Miller and Bloomquist earn Co-Field Athlete of the Year crowns after extremely successful indoor seasons. Miller set the all-time RMAC record in the women’s pole vault at the 2024 RMAC Indoor Track & Field Championships with a vault of 4.27 meters. Her record-breaking vault gave her the eighth highest mark in NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field history. Miller’s impressive performance at the 2024 RMAC Championships sprung the Orediggers into a repeat as women’s champions. Bloomquist had a standout indoor season for UCCS in which she posted NCAA provisional qualifying marks in the long jump, triple jump, and 60m dash. The redshirt senior led the RMAC in the long jump (6.11m) and triple jump (12.70m) while also ranking in the top-six nationally to qualify for the indoor national meet in both events.

Gracie Hyde takes home the Co-Track Athlete of the Year title after a record-breaking season for the Grizzlies. The graduate student broke the NCAA Division II record in the 3000m on Feb. 9 at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational in Boston, Mass. She crossed the finish line with a time of 8:58.33, becoming the first NCAA Division II woman to break the 9-minute barrier in the event. She was also a member of the NCAA Division II record-setting Distance Medley Relay team, anchoring the team to a time of 11:08.94.

Ashley Barrett claims Co-Track Athlete of the Year and Freshman of the Year awards following a groundbreaking year at New Mexico Highlands. Barrett won both the 60m dash and 200m dash at the RMAC Championships, while also running a leg in the 4x400. Barrett's mark in the 60m moved her to the top 8 nationally and her 200m time set a new Donald E. Young Center record.

Colorado School of Mines’ head Coach, Matt Sparks, is the 2023-24 RMAC Women’s Indoor Track & Field Coach of the Year after guiding the Orediggers to a sweep of the RMAC Championships. Under Sparks’ leadership, the Colorado School of Mines women were able to claim their second ever RMAC Indoor Track and Field Championship, their second in two years. Sparks currently has the Orediggers ranked eighth in the nation in the latest United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll heading into the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships.

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. The top-three finishers in each 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.