Track and Field Announces 2020 Award Winners
7/2/2020 5:09:00 PM | Track and Field
Lindsey Blanks received the team's prestigious Oelstrom Award for Overall Excellence.
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – The Air Force track and field team announced its award winners of the shortened 2020 season earlier this week, as head coach Ralph Lindeman and his coaching staff recognized 20 athletes and three managers for their contributions to the program.
Lindsey Blanks closed out her Academy career with the team's top honor – the Gen Tad Oelstrom Award for Overall Excellence, which goes to the one member of the senior class that excels militarily, academically and athletically. Blanks, who became a CoSIDA Academic All-American last week, is the Academy Record holder in both the 2000-meter (7:12.05) and 3000-meter (10:14.77) steeplechase events. An NCAA qualifier in her signature outdoor event, Blanks earned all-conference honors this winter after running the anchor leg of the distance medley relay that clocked the fourth-fastest time in program history (11:38.54a) to finish third at the Mountain West Championships. Blanks, the first member of the women's team to earn the Oelstrom award in 12 years, also accounted for the ninth-fastest 3000-meter time in program history (9:43.79) during a runner-up performance in the 33-runner Iowa State Classic.
Michael Rhoads, the most decorated Indoor All-American in program history, captured the men's Most Valuable Athlete award, while Connor Stevens, who made a stellar return to the pole vault runway this winter after injury, was named the men's Most Outstanding Competitor.
Although his senior season came to an abrupt end with the cancellation of the NCAA Championships just one day before his 800-meter semifinal, Rhoads finished his career as the most decorated Indoor All-American in Air Force history. The senior claimed his third Indoor award after entering the aborted championships ranked fourth in the nation at 800 meters (1:47.65). During his storied career, Rhoads was a four-time All-American, five-time NCAA Qualifier, four-time Mountain West champion (two in the 800-meter run, two in the 4x400-meter relay), six-time all-conference selection and five-time MW Athlete of the Week. Named the Mountain West Athlete of the Year for both the indoor and outdoor seasons in 2019, Rhoads holds both 800-meter records for Air Force (1:47.22a indoors, 1:46.58 outdoors) – times which are the second-fastest marks conference history – and ran the Academy's record-setting sprint medley and 4x400-meter relays.
Stevens, who suffered a back injury last spring that threatened to end his career, returned to the pole vault runway midway through the 2020 season and capped his impressive collegiate campaign with his third all-conference award in as many Mountain West Indoor meets. Matching a season-best clearance of 16'6¾" to place second at the conference meet this winter, Stevens helped Air Force sweep the podium finishes and account for a 1-2-3-5-6 placement in the overall standings. The senior, who won the MW title at the indoor meet in 2019 and qualified to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 2018, finished his career with four top-three, all-conference finishes and was selected as the MW Athlete of the Week twice.
The David Lyon Award for Leadership, which was created in 2014 to honor Capt David Lyon, a 2008 Academy graduate and former Air Force thrower, who was killed in action in 2013, was awarded to Terrell Bradford – one of team captains in 2020. Bradford, a two-time Mountain West champion in the 4x100-meter relay, claimed five all-conference honors during his career and advanced to the NCAA semifinals with the 4x1 squad in 2017. Bradford, who collected top-five finishes in 11 of 13 races as a senior, placed second at the MW Championships after posting a time that was just 0.04-seconds shy of his own No. 6 mark on the Academy's all-time standings.
Chris Doerr received the Laura Piper "Ironman" Award – an award named after former Air Force track and field athlete Lt Laura Piper (Class of 1992), who was killed in action during Operation Provide Comfort in 1994. A pole vaulter by trade, Doerr volunteered to compete in his first collegiate heptathlon this winter to help his teammates at the Mountain West Championships. Just one hour after picking up a sixth-place finish in the heptathlon, Doerr recorded a career-best pole vault clearance of 15'9" to finish fifth in his signature event and help Air Force to a 1-2-3-5-6 finish in the overall pole vault standings.
A trio of seniors combined for the two awards that recognize Drive and Determination, as javelin thrower Parker Spearman earned the men's Bret Hyde Award and the track duo of Teri Brady and Kelsey Owens shared the women's Callie Calhoun Award. Although Spearman's final outdoor season did not materialize, he accounted for two trips to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, the second-best throw in Academy history (228'4"), two Class Records and a pair of runner-up finishes at the Mountain West Championships. During the indoor season, Brady and Owens both affected the program's all-time standings during their final Air Force races at the MW Championships. Brady, a NCAA Outdoor qualifier at 10,000 meters, registered the sixth-fastest 3000-meter time in Academy history (9:37.57a) to finish sixth in the conference final, while Owens clocked the program's seventh-fastest 400-meter time (57.07) and led off the 4x400-meter relay that produced the Academy's second-fastest time (3:48.36) at that meet.
Bailey Ishler and Justin Weber rounded out the senior's list of award winners, as Ishler claimed the Arne Arneson Award for Dedication and Weber earned the Coaches Award for Grit. Like Spearman, Ishler saw his javelin career come to an abrupt end with the cancellation of the outdoor season, but in 2019 – his only full season of competition – Ishler qualified to the NCAA Championships and recorded a career-best distance of 208'6" to finish fourth at the MW Championships. Weber, the MVP of the cross country season, led the team in the 5000-meter distance during the winter (career-best 14:19.39, Iowa State Classic) and earned a scoring finish for Air Force in the 3000-meter at the conference meet (seventh).
Lindsey Blanks closed out her Academy career with the team's top honor – the Gen Tad Oelstrom Award for Overall Excellence, which goes to the one member of the senior class that excels militarily, academically and athletically. Blanks, who became a CoSIDA Academic All-American last week, is the Academy Record holder in both the 2000-meter (7:12.05) and 3000-meter (10:14.77) steeplechase events. An NCAA qualifier in her signature outdoor event, Blanks earned all-conference honors this winter after running the anchor leg of the distance medley relay that clocked the fourth-fastest time in program history (11:38.54a) to finish third at the Mountain West Championships. Blanks, the first member of the women's team to earn the Oelstrom award in 12 years, also accounted for the ninth-fastest 3000-meter time in program history (9:43.79) during a runner-up performance in the 33-runner Iowa State Classic.
Michael Rhoads, the most decorated Indoor All-American in program history, captured the men's Most Valuable Athlete award, while Connor Stevens, who made a stellar return to the pole vault runway this winter after injury, was named the men's Most Outstanding Competitor.
Although his senior season came to an abrupt end with the cancellation of the NCAA Championships just one day before his 800-meter semifinal, Rhoads finished his career as the most decorated Indoor All-American in Air Force history. The senior claimed his third Indoor award after entering the aborted championships ranked fourth in the nation at 800 meters (1:47.65). During his storied career, Rhoads was a four-time All-American, five-time NCAA Qualifier, four-time Mountain West champion (two in the 800-meter run, two in the 4x400-meter relay), six-time all-conference selection and five-time MW Athlete of the Week. Named the Mountain West Athlete of the Year for both the indoor and outdoor seasons in 2019, Rhoads holds both 800-meter records for Air Force (1:47.22a indoors, 1:46.58 outdoors) – times which are the second-fastest marks conference history – and ran the Academy's record-setting sprint medley and 4x400-meter relays.
Stevens, who suffered a back injury last spring that threatened to end his career, returned to the pole vault runway midway through the 2020 season and capped his impressive collegiate campaign with his third all-conference award in as many Mountain West Indoor meets. Matching a season-best clearance of 16'6¾" to place second at the conference meet this winter, Stevens helped Air Force sweep the podium finishes and account for a 1-2-3-5-6 placement in the overall standings. The senior, who won the MW title at the indoor meet in 2019 and qualified to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 2018, finished his career with four top-three, all-conference finishes and was selected as the MW Athlete of the Week twice.
The David Lyon Award for Leadership, which was created in 2014 to honor Capt David Lyon, a 2008 Academy graduate and former Air Force thrower, who was killed in action in 2013, was awarded to Terrell Bradford – one of team captains in 2020. Bradford, a two-time Mountain West champion in the 4x100-meter relay, claimed five all-conference honors during his career and advanced to the NCAA semifinals with the 4x1 squad in 2017. Bradford, who collected top-five finishes in 11 of 13 races as a senior, placed second at the MW Championships after posting a time that was just 0.04-seconds shy of his own No. 6 mark on the Academy's all-time standings.
Chris Doerr received the Laura Piper "Ironman" Award – an award named after former Air Force track and field athlete Lt Laura Piper (Class of 1992), who was killed in action during Operation Provide Comfort in 1994. A pole vaulter by trade, Doerr volunteered to compete in his first collegiate heptathlon this winter to help his teammates at the Mountain West Championships. Just one hour after picking up a sixth-place finish in the heptathlon, Doerr recorded a career-best pole vault clearance of 15'9" to finish fifth in his signature event and help Air Force to a 1-2-3-5-6 finish in the overall pole vault standings.
A trio of seniors combined for the two awards that recognize Drive and Determination, as javelin thrower Parker Spearman earned the men's Bret Hyde Award and the track duo of Teri Brady and Kelsey Owens shared the women's Callie Calhoun Award. Although Spearman's final outdoor season did not materialize, he accounted for two trips to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, the second-best throw in Academy history (228'4"), two Class Records and a pair of runner-up finishes at the Mountain West Championships. During the indoor season, Brady and Owens both affected the program's all-time standings during their final Air Force races at the MW Championships. Brady, a NCAA Outdoor qualifier at 10,000 meters, registered the sixth-fastest 3000-meter time in Academy history (9:37.57a) to finish sixth in the conference final, while Owens clocked the program's seventh-fastest 400-meter time (57.07) and led off the 4x400-meter relay that produced the Academy's second-fastest time (3:48.36) at that meet.
Bailey Ishler and Justin Weber rounded out the senior's list of award winners, as Ishler claimed the Arne Arneson Award for Dedication and Weber earned the Coaches Award for Grit. Like Spearman, Ishler saw his javelin career come to an abrupt end with the cancellation of the outdoor season, but in 2019 – his only full season of competition – Ishler qualified to the NCAA Championships and recorded a career-best distance of 208'6" to finish fourth at the MW Championships. Weber, the MVP of the cross country season, led the team in the 5000-meter distance during the winter (career-best 14:19.39, Iowa State Classic) and earned a scoring finish for Air Force in the 3000-meter at the conference meet (seventh).
2020 Senior Class Awards
Coaches Award for Grit: Justin Weber
Arne Arneson Award for Dedication: Bailey Ishler
Bret Hyde Award for Drive and Determination: Parker Spearman
Callie Calhoun Award for Drive and Determination (tie): Teri Brady, Kelsey Owens
Laura Piper Ironman Award: Chris Doerr
David Lyon Award for Leadership: Terrell Bradford
Most Outstanding Competitor | Men: Connor Stevens
Most Valuable Athlete | Men: Michael Rhoads
Gen Tad Oelstrom Award for Overall Excellence: Lindsey Blanks
Coaches Award for Grit: Justin Weber
Arne Arneson Award for Dedication: Bailey Ishler
Bret Hyde Award for Drive and Determination: Parker Spearman
Callie Calhoun Award for Drive and Determination (tie): Teri Brady, Kelsey Owens
Laura Piper Ironman Award: Chris Doerr
David Lyon Award for Leadership: Terrell Bradford
Most Outstanding Competitor | Men: Connor Stevens
Most Valuable Athlete | Men: Michael Rhoads
Gen Tad Oelstrom Award for Overall Excellence: Lindsey Blanks
The underclassmen accounted for 10 additional Team honors, including the Most Valuable Athlete and Most Outstanding Competitor awards for the women's program.
Highlighted by All-America honors, a Mountain West title and three improvements to the Academy's all-time standings, junior Maria Mettler was named the MVP of the women's team. Mettler, who also claimed All-America honors during the 2019 cross country season, earned her second conference track title in as many years, as she posted the second-fastest 3000-meter time in Air Force history (9:12.10a) to easily win the MW championship. The junior, who captured All-America honors in the 5000-meter run after qualifying to the NCAA final, added the program's second-fastest time in that event (15:49.58) at the Iowa State Classic, where she was the top collegiate finisher (second overall) in the Invitational section. In addition, during her only mile appearance of the season, Mettler registered the sixth-fastest time in Academy history (4:52.28s) to win the Air Force Invitational.
Mahala Norris, who received the program's Most Outstanding Competitor award, was also in the middle of an impressive junior campaign that began during the cross country season. An All-American in the fall, Norris immediately made her impact on the mile this winter, vaulting from 10th to second on the Academy's all-time standings during a win at Colorado. The junior, who cut seven more seconds from her time to break Air Force's three-year-old Record during a third-place finish at the Iowa State Classic, deleted another second from that time in a runner-up performance at the Mountain West Championships (4:40.49a). Norris also accounted for the program's fifth-fastest 3000-meter time (9:34.50a) to capture a top-five finish in the 39-runner conference final – her only 3000-meter appearance of the season.
The program's two Outstanding Performance awards went to a pair of sophomores, as Wyatt Murphy received the Alonzo Babers Award and Ari Martinez was honored with the Gail Conway Award. Finishing as the top point-scorer in four of the seven heptathlon events, Murphy used a career-best tally of 5170 points to easily win the program's first Mountain West combined title in 14 years, set a new Sophomore Class Record and debut in seventh on the Academy's all-time standings. Martinez also debuted in the Academy Record Book in 2020, as she posted a career-best high jump clearance of 5'8½" – the fourth-best jump in program history – to earn a top-five finish in the Elite section of the Red Raider Invitational and earn Mountain West Athlete of the Week honors.
Junior Mitch Lipe earned the team's Falcon Award for Spirit and Enthusiasm after claiming his first Mountain West pole vault title and leading Air Force to a sweep of the top-three podium finishes in that event at the Mountain West Championships. The junior, a two-time MW Athlete of the Week in 2020, captured three first-place finishes at three meets and debuted in ninth on the program's all-time standings after clearing a career-best 17'6½" at the Air Force Invitational. Classmate Addyson Smith received the Paul Gensic Resiliency Award, as she came back from off-season surgery to compete in both indoor throwing events, capture MW Athlete of the Week honors after a shot put victory at the Air Force Open, and finish just shy of her own No. 8 distance in the weight throw at the conference meet (season-best 50'8¾").
Junior Addison Brown earned the men's Most Improved Award, while sophomore Grace Proesch captured the honor on the women's side. Brown improved his high jump clearance by more than four inches over the course of the 2020 indoor season, culminating with a personal-best height of 6'9" to finish second at the Mountain West Championships and earn all-conference accolades. Proesch impacted the Academy record book in both the 200-meter (25.36, sixth) and 400-meter (57.17, ninth) events, while also running on the 4x400-meter that clocked the second-fastest time in program history (3:48.35) and on the distance medley relay that posted the Academy's fourth-fastest time (11:38.54a) during an all-MW performance at the conference championships.
Freshmen Jaret Prete and Maddie Edwards rounded out the Team awards for 2020, as the pair captured Newcomer of the Year honors for their respective squads. Prete, who led Air Force in both throwing events, recorded a Freshman Class Record distance of 57'3½" in the weight throw during a fourth-place finish at the MW Championships, while Edwards, who also claimed Newcomer honors in cross country, was the only member of the women's freshmen class to earn a spot on the team's roster for the conference meet.
2020 Underclassmen Awards
Newcomer of the Year | Men: Jaret Prete
Newcomer of the Year | Women: Maddie Edwards
Most Improved Athlete | Men: Addison Brown
Most Improved Athlete | Women: Grace Proesch
Paul Gensic Resiliency Award: Addyson Smith
Falcon Award for Spirit and Enthusiasm: Mitch Lipe
Alonzo Babers Outstanding Performance Award: Wyatt Murphy
Gail Conway Outstanding Performance Award: Ari Martinez
Most Outstanding Competitor | Women: Mahala Norris
Most Valuable Athlete | Women: Maria Mettler
Newcomer of the Year | Men: Jaret Prete
Newcomer of the Year | Women: Maddie Edwards
Most Improved Athlete | Men: Addison Brown
Most Improved Athlete | Women: Grace Proesch
Paul Gensic Resiliency Award: Addyson Smith
Falcon Award for Spirit and Enthusiasm: Mitch Lipe
Alonzo Babers Outstanding Performance Award: Wyatt Murphy
Gail Conway Outstanding Performance Award: Ari Martinez
Most Outstanding Competitor | Women: Mahala Norris
Most Valuable Athlete | Women: Maria Mettler
In addition to the athletes that were honored with Team awards, three managers were also recognized. Senior Jordan Armstrong was named the Riley Feeney Manager of the Year, while sophomores Andrew Helms and Jared Wright earned the Service Award and Program Enhancement Award, respectively.
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High Jump
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Decathlon
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Decathlon / Pole Vault
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3000m Steeplechase / 5000m
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