Track & Field’s Kerr Named MW Athlete of the Year

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — University of New Mexico track & field student-athlete Josh Kerr was selected by the Mountain West on Wednesday as the 2016-17 Mountain West Male Athlete of the Year.

After capturing a pair of individual NCAA titles during the 2017 track season, Kerr continued to add to his collection of accolades, becoming the fourth student-athlete in New Mexico history to claim the honor.

“It’s a great honor for Josh and the University of New Mexico to be honored with the highest athletic award that the Mountain West can give,” UNM head coach Joe Franklin said. “To be a two-time NCAA champion at such a young age is a testament to his dedication and talent.”

Kerr won a pair of national titles during his outstanding 2017 track campaign, sweeping both the mile run and the 1,500-meter run at the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor championships.

At March’s NCAA Indoor Championships at Gilliam Indoor Track in College Station, Texas, Kerr defeated 17-time national champion Edward Cheserek of Oregon in the mile to claim his first NCAA crown.

In June, at the NCAA Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, Kerr seized his second national title, holding off the field to win the 1,500.

He is just the 11th athlete in NCAA history — and the first since 2008 — to accomplish the indoor/outdoor sweep.

Kerr also ran the sixth-fastest 1,500-meter time in NCAA history at the Bryan Clay Invitational in April, clocking in at 3:35.99.

His time sits just .69 seconds off Sydney Maree’s 36-year-old NCAA record in the 1,500 and also doubles as the New Mexico and Mountain West records in the event.

Kerr also met the qualifying standard for the 2017 IAAF World Championships in London, and subsequently qualified to the World Championships on July 2.

On top of that, he earned wins in the mile and the distance medley relay at the MW Indoor Championships in February and the 800 and 1,500 at the MW Outdoor Championships in May.

Along with his selection at MW Male Athlete of the Year, Kerr was also named in June as the MW Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Student-Athlete of the Year and a semifinalist for the Men’s Bowerman Award, the highest individual honor in collegiate track & field.

He is the first athlete in conference history to earn all three honors in one season.

Established by the Mountain West Joint Council in May 2010, the MW Athlete of the Year Awards are bestowed annually to one male and one female student-athlete who have achieved athletic excellence during the past academic year.

Lobo track & field’s Courtney Frerichs earned the honor last year, while DJ Peterson (baseball) was selected in 2013 and Jodi Ewart (women’s golf) in 2010.

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