Tuesday, March 9, 2021

NEW ORLEANS – Establishing himself as one of the top throwers in the region during the abbreviated 20201 indoor track and field season, Northwest Nazarene junior Colton Burr has been named the Division II West Regional Men’s Field Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Track and Field & Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Despite competing in just two meets this season, Burr established the region’s best mark in the weight throw with a mark of 54 feet, 1.75 inches at the Feb. 18 BYU Cougar Indoor 3. Burr also had the No. 2 mark in the region in the shot put at 45 feet, 11.25 inches, also at the BYU Cougar Indoor 3.

Burr’s mark in the weight throw ranks No. 5 on the Northwest Nazarene all-time best in the event.

Burr is the eighth GNAC men’s athlete to be named the Indoor West Region Men’s Field Athlete of the Year by the USTFCCCA. The conference has claimed the award each of the last three years with Central Washington’s Kodiak Landis winning in 2019 and Saint Martin’s Tyler Cronk winning in 2020. Burr is the first NNU athlete to win the award since Payton Lewis won it in both 2015 and 2016.

Northwest Nazarene and Montana State Billings were the only two GNAC teams to compete during the indoor track and field season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.