COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Junior jumper extraordinaire
Chayton Bynes continued to add to his trophy case as he was named the RMAC Indoor Track Field Athlete of the Year by a vote of the league's head coaches on Thursday, as the RMAC office announced its special awards and official All-RMAC teams for the indoor season.
Bynes (triple jump, long jump),
Ryan Clapper (200 meters),
Christopher Cormier (400 meters),
Shelby Ekwall (shot put) and
Camila Salvucci (triple jump) all earned First Team All-RMAC honors while
Ayden Hartzell (200 meters) and the Chadron State 4x400-meter relay quartet of Clapper, Cormier, Hartzell and
Kadin Perez each earned Second Team All-RMAC honors.
The All-RMAC accolades are based on results at the RMAC Championships. First, second, and third-place finishers are named First Team All-RMAC while fourth through sixth-place finishers earn Second Team All-RMAC recognition. Members of first-place relay teams get First Team honors, while second-place relays are Second Team.
Bynes, a native of Chadron, earns another Field Athlete of the Year honor for his career, but has this one all to himself after being named Co-Field Athlete of the Year in both the indoor and outdoor seasons last year. Bynes previously took home Field Athlete of the Meet honors at the RMAC Championships after winning the triple jump and finishing third in the long jump.
Among Bynes's highlights this indoor season were a school-record triple jump of 16.01 meters (52 feet, 6.5 inches), which remained tied for the farthest mark this season in Division II up until the national championships, where Bynes eventually placed third and took home All-American honors. At the RMAC meet, Bynes won the title in style as he set a new conference meet record by leaping 15.99 meters (52-5.5).
Joining Bynes as special award winners were Track Athlete of the Year Dawson Gunn of Colorado School of Mines and Freshman of the Year Caleb McLeod of CSU Pueblo. Colorado School of Mines's Matt Sparks took home Coach of the Year honors on the men's side.
On the women's side, New Mexico Highlands swept the Track and Field Athlete of the Year awards with Patreece Clarke (Track) and Rojrika Campbell (Field). Colorado School of Mines took home Freshman of the Year honors with Violet Williams while CSU Pueblo's Matt Morris was the women's Coach of the Year.
The RMAC awards are selected and voted on by the league's indoor track & field head coaches. Coaches are not permitted to vote for their own student-athletes.
