COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Colorado State men’s track and field athlete Drew Thompson and Boise State women’s gymnast Courtney Blackson are the 2023-24 Mountain West Male and Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year, respectively.
Established by the Mountain West Joint Council in 1999, the MW Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award is the highest honor presented to a student-athlete by the Conference. The award is bestowed annually to one male and one female who best exemplify the term “student-athlete” by achieving excellence in academics, athletics, and community involvement over the course of their intercollegiate careers.
In addition to athletic achievement, recipients of the MW Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award must have a minimum 3.5 cumulative grade point average, demonstrate leadership, and exhibit good character and conduct on and off the playing field. Each honoree will receive a $2,500 postgraduate scholarship.
A native of Olympia, Washington, Thompson earned a degree in health and exercise science from Colorado State in May 2023, posting a 3.86 GPA. He went on to complete a graduate degree in biomedical science – neurobiology in May 2024, finishing with a 3.75 GPA. Also in the spring of 2024, Thompson was awarded the Merrill-Gheen Award, which honors the Rams’ most outstanding male scholar-athlete.
Thompson was a five-time Academic All-Mountain West performer and Mountain West Scholar-Athlete Award winner in his career and earned Academic All-District honors from College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA) in 2023.
In addition to excelling in the classroom, Thompson was a standout on the track, earning All-Mountain West honors in the 2022 and 2023 outdoor track and field seasons and the 2023 and 2024 indoor seasons. A two-time individual MW champion, Thompson won the heptathlon at the 2023 MW Indoor Track and Field Championships and the decathlon at the 2023 MW Outdoor Track and Field Championships and helped the Rams to team titles during the 2021 indoor season and 2024 outdoor season. In his final season as a Ram, Thompson posted a personal record in the heptathlon with a score of 5,623, the second-best score in program history.
Thompson is the second Ram to be named the MW Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year and first since Christian Meyer in 2013-14.
Blackson graduated in May with a degree in health studies, finishing with a 3.84 GPA. The Elk Grove, California, native was a three-time Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association Scholastic All-American, a two-time College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District selection and a third-team CSC Academic All-American in 2024. Also in 2024, the first year the MW sponsored women’s gymnastics, Blackson earned Academic All-MW and MW Scholar-Athlete Award accolades. Prior to the addition of the sport in the Mountain West, Blackson twice earned Academic All-Mountain Rim Gymnastic Conference (MRGC) honors.
A two-time MRGC champion in the vault, Blackson was an All-Mountain West performer in three disciplines in 2024, earning first-team honors on bars and floor and second-team distinction on vault. Despite missing the inaugural MW Women’s Gymnastics Championship – won by the Broncos – with injury, Blackson returned to make her fourth career appearance at the National Collegiate Women’s Gymnastics Championships regionals, winning bars to advance to the championships. There, she finished sixth to collect first-team All-America honors for the second straight season, complementing her runner-up finish on vault in 2023.
In the community, Blackson participated in the BroncoBOLD Chalk the Walk for Mental Health and a Make-A-Wish event, “Serving Up Wishes.”
Blackson is the second Bronco to be named the MW Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year and the first since Allie Ostrander in 2018-19.
MALE AND FEMALE SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR ALL-TIME LIST OF HONOREES
2023-24
Drew Thompson, Men’s Track and Field, Colorado State
Courtney Blackson, Women’s Gymnastics, Boise State
2022-23
Austin Ajiake, Football, UNLV
Katelyn Mitchem, Women’s Cross Country/Track & Field, Wyoming
2021-22
Kekaula Kaniho, Football, Boise State
Michelle Roca, Women’s Track & Field, Air Force
2020-21
Christopher Henry, Men’s Cross Country/Track & Field, Wyoming
Gwen Maly, Women’s Soccer, New Mexico
2018-19
Nick Smith, Football, Wyoming
Allie Ostrander, Women’s Cross Country/Track and Field, Boise State
2017-18
Mason Hampton, Football, Boise State
Jinan Andrews, Women’s Swimming and Diving, Air Force
2016-17
Devin Wright, Men’s Track and Field, Utah State
Audra DeStefano, Women’s Cross Country/Track and Field, Wyoming
2015-16
Jordan Dobrich, Football, Nevada
Courtney Frerichs, Women’s Cross Country/Track and Field, New Mexico
2014-15
Samir Iftikhar, Men’s Tennis, New Mexico
Rebecca Esselstein, Women’s Cross Country/Track and Field, Air Force
2013-14
Christian Meyer, Men’s Cross Country/Track and Field, Colorado State
Darcie Anderson, Women’s Swimming, San José State
2012-13
Luke Ruff, Football, Wyoming
Chaundra Sewell, Women’s Basketball, Wyoming
2011-12
Greg Miller, Men’s Cross Country/Track & Field, Wyoming
Kelly Williamson, Women’s Volleyball, New Mexico
2010-11
Eric Robinson, Men’s Swimming & Diving, Air Force
Therese Koelbaek, Women’s Golf, UNLV
2009-10
Zane Beadles, Football, Utah
Simone Riford, Rifle, TCU
2008-09
Kellen Fowler, Football, BYU
Abigail Rogers, Gymnastics, Air Force
2007-08
Joseph Brown, Men’s Track & Field, TCU
April Thomas, Women’s’ Cross Country/Track & Field, Colorado State
2006-07
Lars Loseth, Men’s Skiing/Men’s Soccer, New Mexico
Blair Leake, Women’s Swimming & Diving, Air Force
2005-06
Matt Karmondy, Men’s Swimming & Diving, Air Force
Maja Kovacek, Women’s Tennis, New Mexico
2004-05
Morgan Scalley, Football, Utah
Lindsey Metcalf, Women’s Volleyball/Women’s Track & Field, BYU
2003-04
Sean Murray, Baseball, New Mexico
Delavane Diaz, Women’s Volleyball, Air Force
2002-03
John Dayton, Men’s Swimming & Diving, Air Force
Theresa Kulikowski, Gymnastics, Utah
2001-02
Teren Jameson, Men’s Cross Country/Track & Field, Utah
Shannon Bowles, Gymnastics, Utah
2000-01
John Greer, Football, UNLV
Liz Toman, Women’s Track & Field, Colorado State
1999-2000
Matthieu Amgwerd, Men’s Tennis, New Mexico
Katarina Malec, Women’s Tennis, UNLV
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