Carnegie Mellon Men’s Track and Field Sweeps All-UAA Indoor Awards

Carnegie Mellon Men’s Track and Field Sweeps All-UAA Indoor Awards

(ROCHESTER, N.Y.) – The Carnegie Mellon University men's track and field team swept the 2019 University Athletic Association (UAA) Indoor Track and Field postseason awards when they were announced Thursday. Sophomore Marvin Bennett Jr. (Baltimore, Md. / Phillips Exeter Academy) was named Most Outstanding Performer in the running events, classmate Bram Miller (Colgate, Wis. / Kettle Moraine Lutheran) was named Most Outstanding Performer in the field events, with freshman Justin Kiefel (Downingtown, Pa. / Downingtown STEM Academy) being named Rookie of the Year.

Joining the three athletes with accolades is the Cardinal and Gray coaching staff, as they were honored as the Men's Coaching Staff of the Year. These awards come after the team won its third-ever UAA Indoor Track and Field Championship on Sunday, February 24, edging Washington University in St. Louis by six points to claim the title.

Carnegie Mellon becomes the first school in the UAA to sweep the indoor top honors since the association split the Most Outstanding Performer honors into running and field events in 2005.

Bennett Jr. was crowned the UAA Champion in the 60-meter dash and the 200-meter dash in school-record times. He had a personal-best time of 22.12 in the 200-meter and an additional personal-best time of 6.95 in the 60-meter dash. It was the second straight 60-meter dash title for Bennett Jr., as he won the race last season with a time of 6.99 on his way to being named the UAA Indoor Track and Field Rookie of the Year.

Miller won the shot put by an impressive 0.82 meters with a throw of 15.66 meters. The sophomore later had a personal-best performance in the weight throw with a mark of 13.45 meters to place sixth at the championships.

Kiefel, the fourth male Tartan to receive the UAA Indoor Track and Field Rookie of the Year award, recorded a jump of 14.14 meters in the triple jump to claim the UAA Championship. He also placed second in the long jump with a mark of 6.86 meters.

The Coaching Staff of the Year award is the third for the men's staff for indoor competition, as head coach Gary Aldrich, associate head coach Tim Connelly and assistant coaches Michael Stark, Jose Rivera and Michele Bradley were all honored. The same staff was honored following the 2017 season when the Tartans won their second UAA Indoor Championship. Prior to 2017, the program was awarded Coaching Staff of the Year in 2013 when the team won its first UAA Indoor Championship. On that staff was Aldrich as the associate head coach and Stark in his second year as an assistant.