Monday, March 21, 2022

PORTLAND, Ore. – After a season that saw him set the GNAC record in the mile, help set a record in the distance medley relay and run the second-fastest time in Division II in a pair of events, Simon Fraser junior Aaron Ahl has been named the West Region Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Track and Field & Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

The GNAC champion in both the mile and the 3,000 meters, Ahl owned the second-fastest time in Division II in both disciplines, running season bests of 3:57.95 in the mile and 7:53.89 in the 3,000 meters. The mile time, run at the John Thomas Terrier Classic in January, broke the conference record of 3:58.88 set by Western Oregon’s David Ribich in 2018. It is the third-fastest mile in Division II history. Ahl’s best in the 3,000 meters is No. 2 in GNAC history to Ribich’s Division II all-time best time of 7:50.81.

Ahl also ran the anchor leg on Simon Fraser’s distance medley relay team that surpassed the former Division II record on two occasions this season. The quartet finished second at the NCAA Indoor Championships in a time of 9:36.05, breaking the previous GNAC and Division II record of 9:40.15 set by Western Oregon in 2017.

Individually at the national meet, Ahl placed fourth in the 3,000 meters in a time of 8:00.27 and was 11th in the mile in a time of 4:08.62.

At the GNAC Championships, Ahl was named the Men’s Track Athlete of the Meet after he won both the mile (4:01.78) and the 3,000 meters (8:21.23) in meet-record times. His performance in the mile was selected as the Men’s Performance of the Meet.