Michael Rhoads Named MW Outdoor Athlete of the Year
6/17/2019 4:20:00 PM | Track and Field
Rhoads is the first MW athlete to sweep the Indoor and Outdoor Athlete of the Year awards since 2013.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Air Force junior Michael Rhoads capped off a stellar outdoor campaign by being named the Mountain West Men's Outdoor Track and Field Student-Athlete of the Year, the league office announced this afternoon (June 17). It is the second such award of the year for Rhoads, as the native of Sunnyvale, Calif., was also selected as the top male athlete during the indoor season.
With today's award, Rhoads became the first Mountain West student-athlete to sweep the conference's Indoor and Outdoor Student-Athlete of the Year awards since 2013. The junior became the program's first Indoor honoree in March and became the third Falcon to capture the Outdoor award, joining Joey Uhle (2015) and Jamiel Trimble (2016).
Easily crushing his own Academy record, Rhoads became the first member of men's team to earn outdoor All-America honors in the 800-meter run after finishing sixth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships earlier this month in Austin. Clocking in at a time of 1:46.58 in the NCAA finals, Rhoads crushed the previous standard of 1:47.10 that he clocked earlier this spring at the Mt. SAC Relays. With those two times, Rhoads has the second- and third-fastest times in Mountain West history, with his final 2019 time of 1:46.58 being the conference's fastest time since 2001. The junior completed the MW sweep of 800-meter titles, winning the outdoor title in May and becoming the program's first outdoor 800-meter champion in seven seasons – and just the second to complete the indoor/outdoor sweep in that event.
The Mountain West Student-Athlete of the Year award recognizes the conference's outstanding male and female athletes in track and field. Student-athletes are nominated and selected by the head coaches at each member institution.
With today's award, Rhoads became the first Mountain West student-athlete to sweep the conference's Indoor and Outdoor Student-Athlete of the Year awards since 2013. The junior became the program's first Indoor honoree in March and became the third Falcon to capture the Outdoor award, joining Joey Uhle (2015) and Jamiel Trimble (2016).
Easily crushing his own Academy record, Rhoads became the first member of men's team to earn outdoor All-America honors in the 800-meter run after finishing sixth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships earlier this month in Austin. Clocking in at a time of 1:46.58 in the NCAA finals, Rhoads crushed the previous standard of 1:47.10 that he clocked earlier this spring at the Mt. SAC Relays. With those two times, Rhoads has the second- and third-fastest times in Mountain West history, with his final 2019 time of 1:46.58 being the conference's fastest time since 2001. The junior completed the MW sweep of 800-meter titles, winning the outdoor title in May and becoming the program's first outdoor 800-meter champion in seven seasons – and just the second to complete the indoor/outdoor sweep in that event.
The Mountain West Student-Athlete of the Year award recognizes the conference's outstanding male and female athletes in track and field. Student-athletes are nominated and selected by the head coaches at each member institution.
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