COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – South Dakota Mines’ sophomore student-athlete, Owen Johnson, received the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference’s Summit Award on Saturday at the conclusion of its 2026 Men’s Indoor Track & Field Championship.

Johnson, now in his second season competing for the Hardrockers, boasts a 4.00 grade-point average while majoring in Chemical Engineering and has completed 73 credit hours. Johnson is an active contributor of the South Dakota Mines Track & Field team, competing in mid-distance and distance events. Earlier this season at the SDSU Indoor Classic, he broke the South Dakota Mines indoor track record & field record in the mile, with a time of 4:17.54, improving the previous record of 4:18.27 set by Cole Tatro in 2024. Additionally, Johnson has set new personal bests this season in the 800-meter and 3000-meter races with times of 1:56.97 and 8:46.95, respectively. 

The RMAC’s Summit Award is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA competing at the finals site of their respective sport’s championship. Summit Award winners must compete in 20 percent of available competitions throughout the current season. All GPAs are based on a straight-grading scale to ensure consistency among nominees. All ties are broken by the total number of credit hours completed through the most recently concluded semester. 
 
To be eligible for the award, student-athletes must be sophomores or above and have participated in their sport at their institution for at least two years. They must also be active members of their teams and travel to and compete at the RMAC championship event.

Women's Cross Country: Margaux Basart, Colorado School of Mines 
Men's Cross Country: Chase Brown, Colorado Mesa 
Women's Soccer: Dannon Yake, Fort Lewis
Men's Soccer:  Charlie Matsumoto, MSU Denver 
Football: Regan Baker, CSU Pueblo 
Volleyball:  Mia Accomazzo, MSU Denver 
Women's Wrestling: Shania Wear, Chadron State
Women's Swimming & Diving: Ryley Martinez, Adams State
Men's Swimming & Diving: Joseph Lev-Tov, Colorado School of Mines
Women’s Indoor Track & Field: Madison Clause, Chadron State
 
About the RMAC
The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, headquartered in Colorado Springs, is a premier NCAA Division II conference with 15 institutions located in Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Utah. The RMAC currently competes in 22 NCAA Division II sports and has earned 71 national championships and 53 national runners-up since 1992. Founded in 1909, the RMAC is the most historic athletic conference in the western United States and Division II.

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