Courtesy of Kyle Terwillegar, USTFCCCA

NEW ORLEANS – Following the 2015 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships this past weekend in Allendale, Michigan, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced Wednesday the 2015 class of NCAA Division II National Athletes of the Year, as voted on by the coaches.

Tabor Stevens of Adams State and Emily Oren of Hillsdale were named the Men’s and Women’s Track Athletes of the Year, respectively, while Jeron Robinson of Texas A&M-Kingsville and Salcia Slack of New Mexico Highlands earned the Men’s and Women’s Field Athlete of the Year Awards.

Stevens, Robinson and Slack are all repeat winners from a year ago, while Oren repeated from the 2015 indoor season. The full archive of former winners can be found here.

Women’s Track Athlete of the Year: Emily Oren, Hillsdale

The lone repeat national athlete award winner from the indoor season, Oren broke through in 2015 for a pair of national titles and a pair of all-time DII performances – and not necessarily in the same events.

During the regular season, the junior from Holland, Michigan, joined the DII record book in both the steeplechase and in the 1500 meters. She ran 10:04.79 at the Raleigh Relays in late March for what was then the No. 5 time in DII history, and followed that up a month later with a 4:18.16 over 1500 meters at her home Gina Relays for the No. 9 time in DII history. She also went 10:05.05 in the steeple at the GLIAC Championships.

She also led the country at 5000 meters with a 16:17.40 from the Mt. SAC Relays.

All that momentum came to a head at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships, where she claimed both the 3000-meter steeplechase and 5000-meter national titles. She won the steeple in 9:54.43 to become just the third woman in DII history to run sub-10:00, and claimed the 5000 title the following day in 16:36.10.