INDIANAPOLIS- The Great Midwest Athletic Conference recognized standouts from the 2025 outdoor track & field season. Student-athletes from three different institutions headlined the individual awards as Ashland’s A.G. Kruger swept the Coach of the Year honors for both men and women.
 
Kruger, in his third year at the helm of the Ashland track & field program, led his teams to a sweep of conference titles during the outdoor season. This is the first time both programs swept the conference titles in over a quarter of the century. The Eagles ended with 194 team points. The 2024-25 outdoor title was the Eagle’s first in the G-MAC era.
 
Hillsdale’s Ben Haas picked up right where he left off during the indoor season, earning the league’s Field Athlete of the Year honors. Haas won both the shot put and hammer throw at the conference meet and went on to qualify for nationals. At nationals, Haas found himself atop the podium for the hammer throw with a mark of 65.78 meters. Haas became Hillsdale’s first two-time national champion following a first place finish in the weight throw at nationals during the indoor season.
 
Joshua Page of Tiffin University was voted by the league’s coaches as the Track Athlete of the Year. Page won both the 200 and 400 at the conference meet, qualifying for both at the national level. The Columbus, Ohio native found himself in 11^th place in the 200 at nationals to earn all-American status. Page’s 200 time of 20.54 ranks as the fastest time in G-MAC history to date.
 
The top freshman for the men is Walsh’s Joel Brown. During his first collegiate season, Brown not only won the decathlon at the conference championship, but he also qualified for nationals in the event. His decathlon score of 6,910 is a Walsh program record and ranks second all-time in the G-MAC.
 
At the championship, Ashland’s Dhiren Brickman was announced as this year’s Elite 26 Award winner for academic excellence. Brickman is a junior majoring in Computer Science.
 
A full list of honorees can be found HERE.