Five Air Force Standouts Named to MW 25th Season Outdoor Team
5/7/2024 1:07:00 PM | Track and Field
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Five standout graduates of the Air Force track and field program were named to the Mountain West 25th Season Outdoor Track and Field Team, the conference office announced this afternoon (May 7), just prior to the start of the outdoor championship season.
Air Force received four selections on the men's 25-member list, including Sam Gilman (Class of 2023), Michael Rhoads (Class of 2020), Cale Simmons (Class of 2013) and Jamiel Trimble (Class of 2018), while national champion Mahala Norris (Class of 2021) represented the Air Force on the women's list. The Falcons' lineup combined for 12 Mountain West Outdoor titles, 17 all-conference selections for top-three finishes at the MW Outdoor Championships, seven outdoor All-America accolades, one NCAA title and one Olympic berth.
As the Mountain West celebrates its 25th season in 2023-24, the conference is recognizing a 25th Season Team for each sport during its championship event. The 25 men and 25 women were determined by the MW 25th Season Committee, which is comprised of members from the league's 11 full-time institutions.
Backed by three-straight conference titles in the 110-meter hurdles and two years of double titles with victories in the 200-meter dash, Trimble led the group with five outdoor gold medals during his Academy career. Named the Mountain West Outdoor Athlete of the Year in 2016 and a two-time Performer of the MW Outdoor Meet (2016, 2017), Trimble holds the conference and meet records in the 200-meter dash. Rhoads (2019), Norris (2021) and Gilman (2022) also captured MW Outdoor Athlete of the Year honors during their respective seasons, while Gilman and Norris, the Performer of the MW Outdoor Meet in 2021, were selected as the Mountain West Athlete of the Year – the conference's highest athletic honor that recognizes the top athlete from all MW-sponsored sports.
Like Trimble, Simmons holds both the conference and championship meet records in the pole vault, while Norris holds the championship meet records in the 5000-meter run and 3000-meter steeplechase.
Norris capped a stellar 2021 season with the NCAA title in the 3000-meter steeplechase, as she used the (then) sixth-fastest time in NCAA history to win the national championship and become the first Air Force female to win a Division I title in a running event. As a member of the Air Force World Class Athlete Program, Simmons represented Team USA at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio after placing second at the U.S. Olympic Trials
The 2024 Mountain West Outdoor Track and Field Championships will take place May 9-11, at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Clovis, Calif., and be broadcast live on the Mountain West Network and MW app.
Air Force received four selections on the men's 25-member list, including Sam Gilman (Class of 2023), Michael Rhoads (Class of 2020), Cale Simmons (Class of 2013) and Jamiel Trimble (Class of 2018), while national champion Mahala Norris (Class of 2021) represented the Air Force on the women's list. The Falcons' lineup combined for 12 Mountain West Outdoor titles, 17 all-conference selections for top-three finishes at the MW Outdoor Championships, seven outdoor All-America accolades, one NCAA title and one Olympic berth.
As the Mountain West celebrates its 25th season in 2023-24, the conference is recognizing a 25th Season Team for each sport during its championship event. The 25 men and 25 women were determined by the MW 25th Season Committee, which is comprised of members from the league's 11 full-time institutions.
Backed by three-straight conference titles in the 110-meter hurdles and two years of double titles with victories in the 200-meter dash, Trimble led the group with five outdoor gold medals during his Academy career. Named the Mountain West Outdoor Athlete of the Year in 2016 and a two-time Performer of the MW Outdoor Meet (2016, 2017), Trimble holds the conference and meet records in the 200-meter dash. Rhoads (2019), Norris (2021) and Gilman (2022) also captured MW Outdoor Athlete of the Year honors during their respective seasons, while Gilman and Norris, the Performer of the MW Outdoor Meet in 2021, were selected as the Mountain West Athlete of the Year – the conference's highest athletic honor that recognizes the top athlete from all MW-sponsored sports.
Like Trimble, Simmons holds both the conference and championship meet records in the pole vault, while Norris holds the championship meet records in the 5000-meter run and 3000-meter steeplechase.
Norris capped a stellar 2021 season with the NCAA title in the 3000-meter steeplechase, as she used the (then) sixth-fastest time in NCAA history to win the national championship and become the first Air Force female to win a Division I title in a running event. As a member of the Air Force World Class Athlete Program, Simmons represented Team USA at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio after placing second at the U.S. Olympic Trials
The 2024 Mountain West Outdoor Track and Field Championships will take place May 9-11, at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Clovis, Calif., and be broadcast live on the Mountain West Network and MW app.