Eleven UAA athletes, including two former winners, are in the running for the Bill McKay Athlete of the Year award.

Among them are Ruth Keino, a runner for the track and cross country teams who won last year's award, and David Registe, a long jumper who was the school's athlete of the year in 2009.

Others nominated are Andreas Adde (men's alpine skiing), Jaime Bronga (women's nordic skiing), Micah Chelimo (men's cross country), Morgan Cook (gymnastics), Hanna Johansson (women's basketball), Haleigh Lloyd (women's track and field), Jackie Matthisen (volleyball), Jade Portwood (hockey) and Taylor Rohde (men's basketball).

The 28th annual award will be presented Sunday, April 22, at the athlete-of-the-year banquet at the school's Lucy Cuddy Hall. The winner is selected by a committee comprised of UAA staff members, local media and Benton Bay Lions Club representatives.

track and field

UAA runners honored

UAA's track and field team continued to set high standards in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, which gave both of its weekly awards in the sport to record-smashing Seawolves.

Micah Chelimo and Susan Tanui, a pair of runners from Kenya, earned the conference's awards this week for their performances at the Stanford Invitational. It's the fifth time this season UAA athletes have grabbed athlete-of-the-week honors.

Chelimo was honored for his GNAC record-breaking performance in the 5,000 meters. He won in 13 minutes, 53.51 seconds, shattering the record previously held by former UAA All-America runner Marko Cheseto. Chelimo's time is the fastest NCAA Division II time this season.

Tanui clocked 10:15.47 in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase to chop 20 seconds off the old record. Her time is the second fastest in Division II this season and the fourth fastest ever.