INDIANAPOLIS—The Great Midwest Athletic Conference announced the all-conference and end of the year awards for the 2023-24 indoor track & field season.
 
It was another banner season for the Great Midwest member institutions as over 50 student-athletes from the league were poised to make their mark at the NCAA Championships in Pittsburg, Kansas to transition to the outdoor season.
 
The Great Midwest Indoor Track & Field Championships were once again housed at Ashland’s Niss Athletic Center as the Tiffin men and Ashland women captured the championship titles. Tiffin snapped Findlay’s three year win streak as they hoisted the championship trophy for the third time since joining the conference in 2018. The Ashland women made history winning their first ever G-MAC title with a total of 148.50 team points.
 
The all-conference teams are composed of a first and second team with the top finish in either track or field event taking priority if a student-athlete was entered in multiple events.
 
Ashland led all schools for both men’s and women’s selections with a combined total of 24 student-athletes on the all-conference team.
 
The coaches also voted their picks for end of the year awards, separate from the meet awards that were presented at Ashland.
 
Josh Verhoff was voted the Male Track Athlete of the Year, Tiffin’s Jacob McPherson was Great Midwest Field Athlete of the Year, and Tiffin’s Kevin Kean won the Male Coach of the Year.
 
Verhoff, a four time all-conference selection, was a top performer at the national meet. Verhoff clocked a 200m time of 21.14 to take home second place and an all-American honor. The senior currently holds five of the top 10 times in the G-MAC record books in the 200, including a conference-best 21.05.
 
Tiffin’s McPherson earned two podium finishes at the national meet in both the weight throw and shot put. He placed eighth in the shot put with a mark of 20.51 meters. He then went on to toss a 17.54m throw in the weight throw. McPherson was the runner-up in the weight throw at the conference tournament and was apart of the Dragons’ third G-MAC title.
 
Ohio Dominican’s rookie jumper Cole Miller qualified for the NCAA Division II Championship in the long jump, where he finished 12^th overall with a mark of 7.14 meters. Miller won the event at the conference championship and currently holds the third best long jump mark in Great Midwest History.
 
Four different schools were represented on the women’s side of awards as Ursuline runner Alaysia Brooks was announced as the Female Track Athlete of the Year. Brooks is coming off a national championship performance in the 800 meter. Brooks was ranked No. 1 heading into the event and was coming off a first-place finish at the G-MAC championship. She clocked a time of 2:06.97 to find herself atop the podium as a national champion. Alaysia is the sixth G-MAC indoor national champion on the women’s side and has the third best time in the record books (2:06.66).
 
Fintel added to her accolades as she earned two more all-American honors in the shot put and weight throw. She launched a throw of 15.34m in the shot put, good enough for a third place finish. In the weight throw, Fintel threw a second-place mark of 20.34m.
 
Ashland Freshman Hailey Rios made a remarkable debut in her first collegiate season. Rios was named the Freshman of the Meet at the conference championship after earning the most points out of any freshman competing. She finished in fourth in the 60 meter dash and 200 meter dash. Rios then went on to take home the gold in the long jump.
 
Tiffin’s Kevin Kean and Ashland’s A.G. Kruger were voted Men’s and Women’s Coach of the Year, respectively.
 
Kean led the Tiffin men to their third conference title and had eight student-athletes qualify for the national meet.
 
Kruger and the Eagles made history, winning their first ever G-MAC title, and first conference title in 28 years.
 
A complete list of honorees can be found HERE.