Friday, June 3, 2016
PORTLAND, Ore. — Concordia junior thrower McKenzie Warren chosen as a finalist for the Ad Rutschman Small-College Athlete of the Year award which will be given at the 64th Annual Oregon Sports Awards at the Nike World Headquarters on Monday, June 6. A live webcast of the event will be available at www.oregonsportsawards.com.
A former NAIA national champion in the discus and three-time All-American, Warren captured two individual championships at the 2016 GNAC Indoor Track & Field Championships last March. Warren's season-best indoor mark of 53 feet, 3.5 inches in the shot put qualified her to the USATF Indoor National Championships where she was the top collegiate athlete with an 11th-place finish. Her season-best mark shattered the former GNAC record and would have been the top mark in the NCAA Division II by more than four feet. In addition to the conference title in the shot put, Warren topped the field in the weight throw and launched a season-best mark of 56-11.5 in the event.
Warren is joined by George Fox University's Justine Benner and Pacific University's Rachel Roberts as the female finalists for the Ad Rutschman Small College Athlete of the Year Award.
Warren is the 13th Concordia student-athlete to be named a finalist for the award since 2010. Three Cavs have taken home the top honor with three-time NAIA discus national champion Annie Hess winning in 2008. Women's soccer standouts Caitie Davidson (2004) and Shelly Butcher (2003) were CU other two victors.
The Ad Rutschman Award goes to the outstanding male and female student-athletes representing the state's 14 NCAA Division II and III, NAIA-affiliated colleges and universities, and 10 community colleges during the 2014-15 season.