INDIANAPOLIS—The Great Midwest Athletic Conference recognized standouts from the 2024 outdoor track and field season. Student-athletes from three different institutions headlined the individual awards as Findlay’s Jared Krout swept Coach of the Year honors for both the men and women.
 
Krout led the women to back-to-back championships while the men earned their second program title. In addition to landing 19 student-athletes on the all-conference list, Krout also had two student-athletes headline the individual awards. Trista Fintel was voted the Field Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive year. Fintel is coming off two all-American finishes in both the shot put and hammer throw. She was named the Field Athlete of the Meet at the 2024 outdoor championship after winning the shot put, hammer throw, and discus to score a meet-high 30 points. In addition to Fintel, Paige Emnett earned the Elite 26 award for academic excellence. Emnett is a 5^th year Intervention Specialist major.
 
Alaysia Brooks of Ursuline College was voted the top track athlete after winning the 800m at the G-MAC championship. Brooks went on to qualify for the national meet, where she placed 8^th overall. Her 800m time of 2:05.28 is ranked 23^rd on the All-Time NCAA DII performance list and is the seventh fastest time in Great Midwest history.
 
Ashland’s Hailey Rios was awarded top-freshman honors after taking home two first-place finishes at the conference meet. Rios finished first in the long jump while also running a leg in the winning 4x400m relay. She then went on to earn second in the 4x100 relay and third in the 100m dash. The freshman accounted for 25.5 points and qualified for the national meet in the 4x400 relay.
 
On the men’s side, Dominic Nutter was voted the top field athlete. He was ranked at the top of Division II in the hammer throw with a mark of 69.29m. He found himself atop the podium at the conference meet and went on to earn all-American status at the national meet.
 
Joshua Page was awarded the Male Track Athlete of the Year after a record-breaking season. Page won the 400m at the conference meet and then went on to become a national champion in the 400 where he registered a time of 45.71. He ended the year ranked No. 1 in D2 and No. 14 across all divisions. His time is the fastest in G-MAC history.
 
The top freshman on the men’s side is Sheldon McNicholas of Tiffin University. McNicholas was a first-team all-conference selection after winning the triple jump with a mark of 14.77m. He ended his freshman campaign as the fifth best triple jumper in the Midwest Region.
 
Cedarville’s Benjamin Place was the Elite 26 Award winner. Place is a senior majoring in Molecular Biology.