UNM long-distance runner named Mountain West Female Athlete of the Year

University of New Mexico distance runner Amelia Mazza-Downie completed an eye-popping trifecta Wednesday when she was named Mountain West Female Athlete of the Year.

Mazza-Downie was previously honored as the 2022 Mountain West Female Cross Country Athlete of the Year and the 2023 Mountain West Female Outdoor Track & Field Athlete of the Year.

Air Force track and field standout Sam Gilman was named MWC Male Athlete of the Year on Wednesday.

Mazza-Downie, who recently graduated from UNM with a degree in psychology, earned four All-American honors last season, one apiece in cross country and indoor track & field (5,000m) and two in outdoor track & field (5,000m and 10,000m).

During last fall’s cross country season, she defended her Mountain West title, becoming the second woman in school history to win back-to-back titles. She finished 22nd at the NCAA Championships, helping the Lobos to a national runner-up finish.

Mazza-Downie was a second-team All-American in the 5,000m during the indoor and outdoor seasons. She earned first-team All-America honors in the 10,000m with a fourth place finish at NCAA outdoor championships to cap her Lobo career.

She was the Mountain West champion in the 5,000m and broke the school record in the 10,000m. Also a standout in the classroom, she earned first-team Academic All-American honors.

Mazza-Downie is the third Lobo track & field/cross country runner to be named the Mountain West Female Athlete of the Year, joining Courtney Frerichs in 2015-16 and Weini Kelati in 2019-20. She is the fourth Lobo female to win the award, as golf’s Jodi Ewart was recognized in 2009-10, the first year of the award. New Mexico has had two Mountain West Male Athletes of the Year — DJ Peterson (baseball) in 2012-13 and Josh Kerr (track & field) in 2016-17.