BYU Sweeps MWC Indoor Track Student-Athletes of the Year Awards

COLORADO SPRINGS -- BYU track athletes Miles Batty and Lacey Bleazard have been selected as the Mountain West Conference Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field Student-Athletes of the Year, respectively.

Hailing from Sandy, Utah, Batty set a new MWC record in the men’s mile at the Flotrack Husky Classic on Feb. 11 in Seattle, Wash. Batty was the first collegiate runner to cross the finish line in the event, clocking an NCAA automatic-qualifying time of 3:55.79. The junior’s time broke a 31-year old school record and had the fastest collegiate time in the country. At the NCAA Indoor National Championships, Batty ran a controlled race and managed to outsprint the field on the last lap to win a national title in the mile with a time of 3:59.49. The day prior to winning his individual title, the All-American helped BYU’s distance medley relay team to national championship, running the mile leg of the race in an even faster split of 3:56.14.

Bleazard, a product of Cedar Hills, Utah, won the second 800-meter national title of her career last weekend at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, finishing the race in 2:04.09 to take home the victory. As a freshman in 2009, Bleazard won the indoor 800-meter championship and became the first freshman to win an individual national crown in BYU history. With last weekend’s victory, Bleazard becomes the first BYU women’s track athlete to win multiple national championships in one event since Tiffany Lott-Hogan accomplished claimed the outdoor heptathlon title in 1997 and 1998.

The Student-Athlete of the Year award recognizes the outstanding male and female athletes in the sport of indoor track and field. Student-athletes are nominated and selected by the head coaches at each member institution.