NEW ORLEANS, La. – Northwestern men’s track and field athlete Braden Kalvelage has been named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Midwest Regional Athlete of the Year, earning both the Track Athlete of the Year and Field Athlete of the Year honors.
Kalvelage is the first Northwestern athlete to receive the honor and the first athlete in USTFCCCA history to earn both track and field regional recognition in the same year.
“Braden continues to amaze me. He has been dialed in all season,” head coach Scott Bahrke said. “He is a special athlete and deserves this recognition as the best athlete in our region. I know he is in special company to win both the Track and Field Athlete of the Year awards.”
On the track, Kalvelage scored 17.5 points at the GPAC Indoor Championships, winning the 200m while placing third in the 60m and third as part of the 4x400m relay. He remains undefeated in the 200m this season, breaking his own school record with a 21.32 on an oversized track and setting a new GPAC Championships record of 21.71 on a standard track last weekend. His performances have surpassed NAIA standards, as he defeated competitors from all divisions at both the Husker Invitational and SDSU Indoor Classic.
Equally impressive has been Kalvelage’s work in the long jump. He won all of his appearances this season and recorded a personal-best and school-record mark of 7.62m at the Concordia Classic. He claimed his second career GPAC Indoor long jump title and was named the Male Outstanding Athlete of the Meet. His winning leap of 7.45m at the conference championships also earned Outstanding Field Performance honors.
Kalvelage will return to the NAIA Indoor Championships next week, where he is scheduled to compete in the long jump, 200m, and 4x400m relay.
The USTFCCCA Regional Athlete of the Year awards date back to 2016, with five track athletes and five field athletes recognized annually across the NAIA. Kalvelage was joined this year by track honorees Tristan Trevino (Marian), Nathan Cremin (Montreat), Wyatt Johnson (Kansas Wesleyan), and Reuben Manzer (Eastern Oregon), along with field honorees Stuart Stovall (Cornerstone), Jaylen Burris (Voorhees), Brenin Howell (Columbia), and Justin Krabbenhoft (Eastern Oregon).
Award winners were determined by a vote of USTFCCCA member coaches.
