DALLAS – UTEP’s Marissa Simpson was named the Conference USA Women’s Track Athlete of the Year and fellow Miner Victor Kibiego, who earned First Team All-American status, was selected as the Men’s Track Athlete of the Year. Rice’s pole vaulter Alexander Slinkman earned the Men’s Field Athlete of the Year honor while fellow Owl Tara Simpson-Sullivan was named the Women’s Field Athlete of the Year to round out the 2023 winners of the Conference USA Track & Field Athletes of the Year awards.
 
All awards were voted on by the league’s head coaches and take into account the student-athlete’s performances from both the 2023 indoor and outdoor seasons.
 
Women’s Track Athlete of the Year – Marissa Simpson, UTEP, So., Kellits, Jamaica
Simpson, earned Second Team All-American honors in the 100H, finishing with a time of 13.21 in the semifinals at NCAA Nationals. The sophomore clocked a personal record 12.94 (0.8) in the 100H, placing seventh at the West Prelims and took gold in the 100H (13.27 [1.2]) at the C-USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Simpson also took gold in the 60H with an 8.20 finish at the ITF Championships and ran a personal-best 8.12 in the 60H at the Don Kirby. The Kellits, Jamaica, native, finished third in the 100H (13.49 [0.9]) at the Willie Williams/Dave Murray while also placing second in 60H at TTU Corky Classic.
 
Women’s Field Athlete of the Year – Tara Simpson-Sullivan, Rice, Jr., Penrith, England
Simpson-Sullivan earned First Team All-American honors after a fifth-place finish in the weight throw at the NCAA Championships in Austin. She also had a fourth-place finish at the NCAA West Prelims and swept the weight/hammer titles at the indoor/outdoor C-USA meets while breaking the Rice and C-USA meet records at the indoor meet. The junior from England holds Second Team All-American honors after a 14^th-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships while winning nine event titles on the year.
 
Men’s Track Athlete of the Year – Victor Kibiego, UTEP, R-Jr., Eldoret, Kenya
Kibiego was tabbed a First team All-American in the 3000s with a third-place showing (8:32.49) at NCAA Nationals while clocking a personal record 8:26.80 in the 3000s at the West Prelims. The redshirt junior won gold in the 3000s, silver in the 5000m (14:08.37) and bronze in the 1500m (PR 3:44.59) at the C-USA Outdoor Championships. Additionally, Kibiego placed first in the 5000m (PR 14:00.10) at the Bryan Clay and won the 3000s at the Willie Williams/Dave Murray.
 
Men’s Field Athlete of the Year – Alexander Slinkman, Rice, Jr., Mechanicsville, Va.
Slinkman, a C-USA Athlete of the Week recipient, earned Second Team All-American honors after an 11^th-place finish in pole vault at the NCAA Championships in Austin while finishing second at the NCAA West Prelims. The Rice junior swept the pole vault titles at the C-USA indoor and outdoor meets while also breaking the conference record at both meets. Slinkman was also named a Second Team All-American after a 10^th-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships totaling eight event titles in 2023.