Photo by: Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports
Sam Gilman Named MW Indoor Athlete of the Year
3/24/2022 11:01:00 AM | Track and Field
It is the sixth time since 2015 that a Falcon has been named the MW Athlete of the Year.
COLORADO SPRINGS Colo. – The remarkable junior season of Air Force distance runner Sam Gilman continued this morning (March 24), as he was named the Mountain West Male Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year.
Gilman, the only Mountain West athlete to qualify to the NCAA Indoor Championships on the men's side, captured All-America honors in the 5000-meter run at the national meet to cap an indoor campaign that began with an Academy and Conference Record performance in that event at the Sharon Colyear-Danville Opener in early December. Just two weeks removed from an All-American outing at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, Gilman opened the indoor season with a 13:25.17 finish in the 5000-meter run, placing seventh out of 133 runners, crushing the Academy's 11-year-old record by more than 16 seconds, resetting the Mountain West's two-year-old standard by more nearly 15 seconds, and posting a time that remained among the nation's elite all season.
The junior's success on the track was not limited to the 5000-meter event, as Gilman accounted for Academy Records in every distance he raced this season. The native of Hilton Head Island, S.C., placed his name at the top of the program standards in the mile (3:57.52a, Air Force Invitational) and 3000-meter run (7:47.93, Iowa State Classic), before anchoring the distance medley relay to a program-best mark of 9:31.62a and a winning finish at the Mountain West Indoor Championships. Gilman, the MW champion in the mile, also accounted for first-place finishes at the Air Force Invitational, where his mile time set a new Cadet Field House Facility Record, and at the Iowa State Classic, where his record-setting 3000-meter performance bettered an elite field of 52 by more than a second.
With today's announcement, Gilman became the fifth different Falcon to earn a Mountain West Track and Field Athlete of the Year award, joining Academy standouts Joey Uhle (2015 Outdoor), Jamiel Trimble (2016 Outdoor), Michael Rhoads (2019 Indoor, 2019 Outdoor) and Mahala Norris (2021 Outdoor).
The Mountain West's Athlete of the Year awards recognize the top male and female athletes in track and field. Student-athletes are nominated and selected by the head coaches at each member institution.
Gilman, the only Mountain West athlete to qualify to the NCAA Indoor Championships on the men's side, captured All-America honors in the 5000-meter run at the national meet to cap an indoor campaign that began with an Academy and Conference Record performance in that event at the Sharon Colyear-Danville Opener in early December. Just two weeks removed from an All-American outing at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, Gilman opened the indoor season with a 13:25.17 finish in the 5000-meter run, placing seventh out of 133 runners, crushing the Academy's 11-year-old record by more than 16 seconds, resetting the Mountain West's two-year-old standard by more nearly 15 seconds, and posting a time that remained among the nation's elite all season.
The junior's success on the track was not limited to the 5000-meter event, as Gilman accounted for Academy Records in every distance he raced this season. The native of Hilton Head Island, S.C., placed his name at the top of the program standards in the mile (3:57.52a, Air Force Invitational) and 3000-meter run (7:47.93, Iowa State Classic), before anchoring the distance medley relay to a program-best mark of 9:31.62a and a winning finish at the Mountain West Indoor Championships. Gilman, the MW champion in the mile, also accounted for first-place finishes at the Air Force Invitational, where his mile time set a new Cadet Field House Facility Record, and at the Iowa State Classic, where his record-setting 3000-meter performance bettered an elite field of 52 by more than a second.
With today's announcement, Gilman became the fifth different Falcon to earn a Mountain West Track and Field Athlete of the Year award, joining Academy standouts Joey Uhle (2015 Outdoor), Jamiel Trimble (2016 Outdoor), Michael Rhoads (2019 Indoor, 2019 Outdoor) and Mahala Norris (2021 Outdoor).
The Mountain West's Athlete of the Year awards recognize the top 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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