Schmidt, McKenzie Named Indoor Track & Field Student Athletes of the Year
FRISCO, Texas – Abilene Christian hurler Kai Schmidt and McNeese junior pentathlon competitor Grace McKenzie are the 2019 Southland Conference Indoor Track & Field Student-Athletes of the Year, the league announced Friday. Southland yearly awards are presented by
Ready Nutrition.
Schmidt claims the award after winning the 2019 Southland Conference indoor shot put title on a toss of 58-11.5, beating out the second-place contestant by a 2-3.5 margin. The ACU graduate student also set the school shot put record at the Texas Tech Shootout in Lubbock, Texas (Feb. 8-9) with a throw of 63-5. At the conclusion of the indoor track & field season, Schmidt was ranked No. 20 in the nation among shot putters.
A native of Kerfeld, Germany, Schmidt is pursuing his master’s degree in accounting and currently holds a 3.57 GPA.
McKenzie closed out her junior indoor campaign as a NCAA First Team All-American, following several record setting performances. She set a McNeese, Southland Conference and Irish National record at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships (March 8) after registering 4,230 points for an eighth-place pentathlon finish. The junior also set a McNeese program record in that same event with a high jump of 5-8.75 at the NCAA Championships.
A nursing major, the Cork, Irland, native also succeeds in the classroom as she maintains a 3.75 GPA.
The Southland Conference awards committee, which consists of one administrator from each of the 13 member universities, votes for student-athletes of the year. The Southland Student-Athlete of the Year award is presented to one student-athlete who achieves excellence in both academics and athletics. All nominees must have earned at least a 3.2 GPA on a 4.0 scale and demonstrated athletics achievement for at least two years at the nominating institution.
All-Academic teams are named for indoor track & field and outdoor track & field after the conclusion of the outdoor track & field season.