United Athletic Conference

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DENVER - Missouri-Kansas City distance runner Courtney Frerichs and Utah Valley track & field athlete Michael McPherson are the 2014-15 Western Athletic Conference Joe Kearney Award winners.

Named in honor of former WAC commissioner Joe Kearney, the awards are given annually to the top male and female student-athletes in the WAC. Both are the first student-athletes at their respective institutions to win the prestigious award.

Frerichs, a five-time All-American, earned three All-America honors this academic year alone. In cross country, she finished 13th at the NCAA Championship to garner All-America honors. She was a two-time USTFCCA Female Athlete of the Week, won the NCAA Midwest Regional, won the WAC Championship and was named WAC Athlete of the Year and first team All-WAC.

During the indoor season, Frerichs finished fifth at the NCAA Championships in the 5,000-meter run for her second All-America honor of the year. She also won the 3,000- and 5,000-meter runs at the WAC Championships.

Frerichs capped her year with a second-place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the 3000-meter steeplechase after winning the event at the NCAA West Regional. She also won the 3,000-meter steeplechase and the 5,000-meter run at the WAC Championships, helping the ‘Roos to the conference title and earning WAC Outstanding Track performer honors. She also became the first WAC athlete ever named to the Bowerman Watch list, collegiate track & field's highest honor.

Frerichs was recently named to the Capital One Academic All-America® first team and was honored with the Circle of Champions Award as UMKC's top female athlete for the second straight year.

“Courtney is a tremendous asset to the team,” UMKC Head Coach Shameika McField said. “She is a team player, motivator, mentor and leader. She is by far one of the hardest working student-athletes I have coached on the track and in the classroom. Her humility for her craft is impressive, while she consistently pushes herself to be a fierce competitor, at the same time being patient with her performances and development. Her abilities make her talented, her performances make her successful, but her smile and grace make her exceptional.”

McPherson became Utah Valley's first-ever two-time All-American at the Division I level after placing 12th in the heptathlon at the 2015 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships and 16th in the decathlon at the 2014 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. He is a multiple record holder at Utah Valley, holding school records in the decathlon and the long jump in outdoor competition, and the heptathlon, long jump, 1000-meter run and the 4x400-meter relay on the indoor side of things.

McPherson was named the WAC Outstanding Field Athlete at both the 2015 WAC Indoor Championships and the 2014 WAC Outdoor Championships. He is a multiple first and second team All-WAC performer, as well as a three-time NCAA qualifier and helped lead his team to an unprecedented seven conference team titles during his time at Utah Valley.

Utah Valley's 2015 Male Athlete of the Year, McPherson placed fifth in the heptathlon at the prestigious 2014 USATF Track & Field Championships. He has been named to the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team twice in his career.

“While he wanted to be the best athlete possible, when it came to any conference championship, Michael was the ultimate team player,” Utah Valley Associate Head Coach Kirke Adamson said. “At one outdoor championship he contested 20 events, scoring in every event except one. Throughout his career he has always asked for more events to ensure the team can win a title and he never lost an outdoor team championship. As a coach I loved working with Michael because he listened well, assimilated all that I said, then put it in to practice on the field, truly allowing himself to show improvement each and every day.”