Stevens, Oren, Robinson & Slack Named NCAA DII National Athletes of the Year
NEW ORLEANS – Following the 2015 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships this past weekend in Allendale, Michigan, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced Wednesday the 2015 class of NCAA Division II National Athletes of the Year, as voted on by the coaches.
Tabor Stevens of Adams State and Emily Oren of Hillsdale were named the Men’s and Women’s Track Athletes of the Year, respectively, while Jeron Robinson of Texas A&M-Kingsville and Salcia Slack of New Mexico Highlands earned the Men’s and Women’s Field Athlete of the Year Awards.
Men’s Track Athlete of the Year: Tabor Stevens, Adams State
Stevens closed out his collegiate career in a big way in 2015, setting an all-time NCAA Division II record in the steeplechase and winning a pair of national titles. In early May, he ran 8:26.81 in the Payton Jordan 3000-meter steeplechase to break the DII record and move to No. 2 on the 2015 all-collegian list.
Fast forward three weeks to the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships, where Stevens capped his collegiate career with national titles in the steeplechase and at 5000 meters. He won the former in 8:44.40 on Friday, followed by a 14:14.42 win in the former on Saturday.
Earlier this season he also ran a then-collegiate-leading 8:32.50 in the steeplechase at the Stanford Invitational, and went 4:01.27 in the mile at the La Junta Relays for the fastest-ever mile recorded on Colorado soil.
Women’s Track Athlete of the Year: Emily Oren, Hillsdale
The lone repeat national athlete award winner from the indoor season, Oren broke through in 2015 for a pair of national titles and a pair of all-time DII performances – and not necessarily in the same events.
During the regular season, the junior joined the DII record book in both the steeplechase and in the 1500 meters. She ran 10:04.79 at the Raleigh Relays in late March for what was then the No. 5 time in DII history, and followed that up a month later with a 4:18.16 over 1500 meters at her home Gina Relays for the No. 9 time in DII history. She also went 10:05.05 in the steeple at the GLIAC Championships.
She also led the country at 5000 meters with a 16:17.40 from the Mt. SAC Relays.
All that momentum came to a head at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships, where she claimed both the 3000-meter steeplechase and 5000-meter national titles. She won the steeple in 9:54.43 to become just the third woman in DII history to run sub-10:00, and claimed the 5000 title the following day in 16:36.10.
Men’s Field Athlete of the Year: Jeron Robinson, Texas A&M-Kingsville
In the high jump, no collegiate man has soared higher than Robinson in 2015, nor has any DII man in history.
At the Lone Star Conference Championships, the junior cleared 7-7 (2.31m) to move into sole possession of the all-time Division II record he had previously shared following last year’s NCAA Championships. With that third-attempt clearance, he moved into a share of the No. 5 spot on the worldwide IAAF list for 2015, and is tied with NCAA Division I Indoor champion JaCorian Duffield of Texas Tech among collegians.
He took the NCAA Division II Outdoor title with a first-attempt make at 7-2¼ (2.19m) before moving the bar to a height of 7-8 (2.34m) for three unsuccessful attempts at what would have improved his DII record and moved him to No. 3 in the world list.
No other man during the 2015 DII season cleared a height higher than 7-1¾ (2.18m); Robinson surpassed that height in five of his seven outdoor meets.
Women’s Field Athlete of the Year: Salcia Slack, New Mexico Highlands
Not only has Slack established herself as the greatest-ever heptathlete in NCAA Division II history during the 2015 season, she joined the ranks of the all-time great collegians, regardless of division. The senior from Jamaica posted an impressive 6141 points at the Jim Click Combined Events in early April to temporarily take the 2015 collegiate lead and move to No. 10 on the all-time collegiate performers list.
She has since been bumped down to the No. 11 spot on that all-time list, but remains No. 3 on the list of 2015 collegians and No. 4 on the worldwide IAAF list for 2015.
At the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships, not only did she win the heptathlon title – her second in a row – with a score of 5691, but also competed in her own personal “heptathlon” schedule at NCAAs. Including the heptathlon, she competed in seven total events, featuring the long jump, triple jump and shot put. She was sixth in the long jump, 10th in the triple jump and 15th in the shot put.
During the regular season, she was the No. 2 triple jumper in Division II. She won RMAC titles in the heptathlon and the triple jump, while also scoring in the shot put, long jump and javelin throw.