PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The American Athletic Conference has announced the winners of the 2018 Indoor Track and Field Most Outstanding Performance awards, as student-athletes from Cincinnati, Houston and SMU collected honors.
The award is presented to student-athletes who recorded the highest-ranking marks on the NCAA performance list at The American Indoor Track and Field Championships this season. Houston junior Kahmari Montgomery, Cincinnati seniors Adrian Valles and Loretta Blaut, Houston sophomore Nathaniel Mechler and SMU junior Latessa Johnson each earned the accolades.
MEN’S INDOOR TRACK MOST OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE
Kahmari Montgomery * Houston * Junior * 400-Meter Dash
Montgomery shattered The American meet record, as well as the Birmingham CrossPlex facility record with his time of 45.53 in the 400-meter dash. His mark was also the fifth-fastest in the NCAA this season. Montgomery won his first conference gold medal, as he prepares for the NCAA Championships.
MEN’S INDOOR FIELD MOST OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE
Adrian Valles * Cincinnati * Senior * Pole Vault
Valles became the first four-time American Athletic Conference indoor champion after winning the pole vault in his senior season, clearing a height of 5.50 meters. His conference-winning mark is ranked No. 11 in the NCAA this year, while his clearance of 5.61 meters from earlier this season ranks fourth in the nation.
MEN’S INDOOR FIELD MOST OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE
Nathaniel Mechler * Houston * Sophomore * Heptathlon
Mechler successfully defended his heptathlon title at this year’s conference championships, breaking the meet record with a score of 5,703 points. On the second day of the championships, he placed second in both the 1,000-meter run and pole vault and tied for third in the 60-meter hurdles to set the record and secure another title. Mechler’s score is ranked No. 11 in the nation this season.
WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK MOST OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE
Latessa Johnson * SMU * Junior * 200-Meter Dash
Johnson won the women’s 200-meter dash in 2016 and did it again this season, this time breaking the conference record at 23.17. The junior’s mark from the conference championships is No. 22 on this year’s NCAA performance list.
WOMEN’S INDOOR FIELD MOST OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE
Loretta Blaut * Cincinnati * Senior * High Jump
Blaut bettered her title performance from 2017, clearing 1.76 meters to win again this year. After clinching the title, she cleared 1.87 meters to set a new conference record, which ranks No. 5 in the nation this season.