2018 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Athletes of the Year

NEW ORLEANS -- After earning his seventh and eighth career NCAA Division II national championships (100m, 200m) at Outdoor Nationals last weekend, Mobolade Ajomale was selected as the DII Men's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year in a Thursday announcement by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

"This is a well-deserved honored and a result of the body of work Bolade put together this outdoor season," said head coach Kevin LaSure. "I am really excited for him because he has worked really hard throughout the year and it's great to see him reaping the benefits of all of his hard work. As long as he continues to work the way he does, the sky is the limit for what he can accomplish."

Ajomale was simply dominant at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships, where he started the final day by assisting ART U's fifth-place finish in the 4x100m relay for All-American honors. Not long after, he won the 100m with a time of 10.18 (just 0.01 shy of his lifetime-best and program record) and then, just over an hour later, the Communications & Media Technologies major returned to earn the 200m championship by way of a 20.45.

Now a 14-time All-American, Ajomale became the first athlete to double up in the 100m and 200m since Minnesota State's Emmanuel Matadi did so in 2015. Ajomale finished with a total of 21 points at the meet, the most of any male track-only student-athlete. The Richmond Hill, Canada native was named 2018 PacWest Men's Track Athlete of the Year after capturing PacWest outdoor titles this year in the 100m, 200m, 400m, and 4x100m all on the same day.

This is the third USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Year award in Academy of Art track & field program history after Vashti Thomas earned the outdoor honor in 2013 and Ajomale collected the indoor version in 2017.