NORMAL, Ill.—Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Jeff Bovee announced the 2013-14 season awards for the ISU squads Monday.
The Most Valuable Athlete awards for cross country were given to Ryan Rutherford and Rachael Brewer. Criterion for this award was based on combined total points scored at the Missouri Valley Conference Championship, as well as the NCAA Regional meets.
During the 2013 campaign, Rutherford had a breakout year that included a school cross country record, clocking a time of 23:50 at Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute, Indiana. The Bloomington, Illinois, native was also named to the all-conference and all-regional teams with a second-place finish at the MVC Championships, running neck-and-neck with conference rival John Mascari of Indiana State who took home the crown. Rutherford finished 20th at the Midwest Regional to earn all-midwest honors and helping the men's team to a final regional ranking of 15th.
Brewer earned the award for a remarkable senior campaign that included a first-place victory at the Valley Championships, earning her All-Valley honors. The senior cross country standout also captured Valley Scholar-Athlete accolades for her strong performance in the classroom. She capped off her senior season with a 26th-place finish at the Midwest Regional, helping her team to an 11th-place regional ranking.
The next cross country award was presented to the standout rookies. The Newcomer of the Year award is given to athletes based on the combined total points scored at the MVC Championships, proving himself and herself a valuable member of the team. In addition, the Rookie of the Year must demonstrate great potential through talent, hard work, desire, passion, determination and a positive attitude. This year's awards were presented to Jeff Bajema and Haley Goers.
Bajema was consistently a top-five Redbird finisher. In his Redbird debut, Bajema captured a second-place finish at the Hawkeye Invitational, setting the precedent for his freshman year. Bajema ran a personal-best 8K at the MVC Championships, clocking a time of 25:06, helping his team to a third-place Valley finish. Bajema was also a core part of the Redbird men's squad's 15th-place regional ranking in the competitive Midwest region.
Goers, a transfer from Purdue, was also a consistent top-five finisher for the Redbird women's squad. She earned her best time at the Valley Championships, clocking a 5,000-meter time of 18:09 and narrowly missed honorable mention Valley honors. She opened up her Redbird campaign with a sixth-place finish at the Hawkeye Invitational and closed out the season with a personal-best 6K time of 21:50, helping her team to a final regional ranking of 11th.
The Most Valuable Player for track and field is based solely on the combined total points scored at the indoor and outdoor MVC meets. Winners of the MVP award are not eligible for the Outstanding Track and Field Athlete awards. Winning this year's awards were Curt Jensen, and for the second-consecutive year, Kristen Zillmer.
Jensen and Zillmer were two of the three student-athletes who competed in Eugene this past June at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. In his senior campaign, Jensen earned two All-American honors with two eighth-place finishes in the shot put at the indoor and outdoor championships. Jensen not only picked up two ISU records in the shot put during the 2013-14 season, but he also captured MVC records in the shot put with marks of 20.33 meters (outdoor) and 20.29 meters (indoor).
Zillmer earned her second-consecutive trip to Historic Hayward Field with a seventh-place finish at the NCAA West Regional in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Zillmer also captured a first-place finish in the event at the Valley Championships to accompany her third-place finish in the 1,500. She ran to a record-breaking time in the 1,000-meter indoor, grabbing the Illinois State record with a time of 2:50.41.
The Outstanding Track Athlete award is chosen based on the combined total points scored at the indoor and outdoor MVC meets, NCAA regionals and nationals, postseason accomplishments, as well as leadership skills on the track. The 2013-14 recipients of the award were Rutherford and Shandel Ellis.
Earning his second award of the night, Rutherford was a vital part of the men's total points at the conference meets. He finished second in the 5,000-meter race and ran to a third-place finish in the 3,000-meter indoor race. He also notched back-to-back second-place finishes at the outdoor championships in the 5K and 10K. Rutherford narrowly missed a spot at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, finishing 18th in the field of 48 of the 10,000m. He broke the 5,000m and 10K records during the outdoor season with times of 13:49 and 28:41, respectively. His 10K time also earned him a spot in the Valley record books, breaking the former record set in 2011.
Ellis, along with Rutherford, was a competitor at the 2014 NCAA West Regional. She notched two top-five finishes at the outdoor Valley meet this year as well as two third-place finishes at the indoor meet. The senior finished with personal-best times of 54.20 in the 400m and 23.99 in the 200m in her career.
The next award was presented to the Most Outstanding Field Athlete, an award chosen based on the combined total points scored at the indoor and outdoor Valley Championships, NCAA Regional and NCAA National Meet, along with postseason accomplishments and demonstrative leadership abilities. Akil Mills and Jianna Williams were recipients of this year's award.
Mills earned his first All-America honor of his career at the indoor NCAA Championships with a sixth-place finish in the weight throw. He narrowly missed the outdoor championships in the hammer throw, finishing 21st at the NCAA West Regional. Mills earned Outstanding Male Athlete accolades at the indoor MVC Championships for his first-place performance in the weight throw, accompanied by his ninth-place finish in the shot put. He ranks second on the all-time best list in the hammer throw behind Tom Barrett.
Williams was the third Redbird to earn her spot at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships with a 12th-place finish at the NCAA West Regional. Williams came into the meet ranked 45th and climbed her way up to 12th with a heave of 57.41 meters. She was the only Redbird to compete in two events at the NCAA regional and looks to continue her successful ISU career, as she enters her senior season. Williams also ranks second on the all-time best list for ISU in the hammer throw with a best mark of 57.26 meters.
The next award was presented to the Rookie of Year for track and field. This award is based on total points scored at the MVC Indoor and Outdoor Championships, proving to be a valuable member of the team. This year's Rookie of the Year Award winners were Goers and Cirron Clark.
Clark was a breakout star on the outdoor track and field circuit. As a freshman, he consistently improved week-by-week and earned himself a spot at the NCAA West Regional with a first-place performance at the Missouri Valley Conference Championships. Clark jumped 5.18m to earn the victory, two centimeters from the ISU record and breaking his own personal-best mark by nearly a foot. Clark looks to build on this success heading into his sophomore season.
Earning her second award of the evening, Goers opened her outdoor season with a 5K time of 16:53 at San Francisco State. She did not finish her outdoor season because of injury, but had a breakout indoor season, placing sixth at the indoor championships in the mile, following a first-place finish in the women's distance medley relay.
The final award was the Excellence Award, and it was given to the athletes that exemplify what a Redbird Track and field student-athlete should be and must consistently illustrate what every other student-athlete should aspire to be. This person demonstrates hard work, determination and a positive attitude. The award for 2013-14 was given to Mills and Zillmer.
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