COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Air Force football player Trey Taylor and Colorado State thrower Mya Lesnar are the 2023-24 Mountain West Male and Female Athlete of the Year, respectively.

Established by the Mountain West Joint Council in May 2010, the MW Athlete of the Year Awards are bestowed annually to one male and one female student-athlete who has achieved athletic excellence during the past academic year. In addition to superior athletic achievement, MW Athlete of the Year Award criteria require that nominees be in good academic standing throughout their season of competition and demonstrate good character and conduct on and off the playing field.

Taylor is the second straight Air Force cadet-athlete to be named the MW Male Athlete of the Year and the fourth Falcon overall, male or female, to earn the award since its inception in 2009-10. A seventh-round draft pick of the Las Vegas Raiders in April, Taylor turned in an outstanding final season for Air Force, highlighted by winning the Paycom Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s best defensive back.

A native of Frisco, Texas, Taylor also claimed the Defender of the Nation Award and earned the East-West Shrine Bowl Pat Tillman Award, which is presented to the player who best exemplifies character, intelligence, sportsmanship and service. In addition to being a first-team All-Mountain West selection, Taylor earned All-America honors from several organizations, including a first-team nod from the AFCA to become the Falcons’ first first-team All-American since 2010. He was also named the Colorado College Male Athlete of the Year by the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame.

Taylor finished the 2023 season with 74 tackles (40 solo) and three interceptions. He helped Air Force to a 9-4 overall record and a win over James Madison in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl. Taylor also helped the Falcons spend three weeks in the national rankings, including an appearance at No. 25 in the initial CFP Selection Committee Rankings of the season.

Lesnar is Colorado State’s second MW Female Athlete of the Year and first since Danielle Minch in 2010-11. She becomes CSU’s fourth winner of a MW Athlete of the Year award overall. She was the national champion in the indoor shot put and rewrote the MW record book in 2024.

After winning the 2024 Mountain West individual indoor titles in the weight throw and indoor shot put, the latter with a MW-record throw of 19.10 meters, and helping the Rams to the team title, Lesnar was named the MW Women’s Outstanding Field Performer of the meet and later the MW Women’s Indoor Track and Field Student-Athlete of the Year. She would go on to win Colorado State’s first women’s indoor national championship in program history, entering the NCAA meet with the nation’s top mark in the shot put and winning the title with her fourth throw of the day.

Lesnar added another All-America honor during the outdoor season in the spring, finishing fifth at the NCAA meet in the shot put. She also claimed two more MW individual titles, winning the shot put and hammer throw to earn 2024 MW Women’s Field Performer of the Meet honors. The Alexandria, Minnesota, native shattered the MW record in the shot put with a heave of 19.08 meters en route to helping CSU to another team title.

MW MALE AND FEMALE ATHLETES OF THE YEAR ALL-TIME LIST OF HONOREES
2023-24
Trey Taylor, Football, Air Force
Mya Lesnar, Women’s Track & Field, Colorado State

2022-23
Sam Gilman, Men’s Track & Field/Cross Country, Air Force
Amelia Mazza-Downie, Women’s Track & Field/Cross Country, New Mexico

2021-22
Trey McBride, Football, Colorado State
Kristie Schoffield, Women’s Cross Country/Track & Field, Boise State

2020-21
Avery Williams, Football, Boise State
Mahala Norris, Women’s Cross Country/Track & Field, Air Force

2019-20
Malachi Flynn, Men’s Basketball, San Diego State
Weini Kelati, Women’s Cross Country/Track & Field, New Mexico

2018-19
Ryan Jensen, Baseball, Fresno State
Allie Ostrander, Women’s Outdoor Track and Field, Boise State

2017-18
Rashaad Penny, Football, San Diego State
Allie Ostrander, Women’s Outdoor Track and Field, Boise State

2016-17
Josh Kerr, Men’s Track and Field, New Mexico
Allie Ostrander, Women’s Track and Field, Boise State

2015-16
Patrick Corona, Men’s Cross Country/Track and Field, Air Force
Courtney Frerichs, Women’s Cross Country/Track and Field, New Mexico

2014-15
Garrett Grayson, Football, Colorado State
Emma Bates, Women’s Cross Country/Track & Field, Boise State

2013-14
Derek Carr, Football, Fresno State
Emma Bates, Women’s Cross Country/Track & Field, Boise State

2012-13
DJ Peterson, Baseball, New Mexico
Shanieka Thomas, Women’s Track & Field, San Diego State

2011-12
Kurt Felix, Men’s Track & Field, Boise State
Whitney Gipson, Women’s Track & Field, TCU

2010-11
Jimmer Fredette, Men’s Basketball, BYU
Danielle Minch, Women’s Volleyball, Colorado State

2009-10
Jerry Hughes, Football, TCU
Jodi Ewart, Women’s Golf, New Mexico

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