The
Fresno Pacific Sunbirds went back-to-back with Pacific West Conference men’s track and field titles, and they also were in repeat mode for two of the conference’s special awards.
The Sunbirds won the majority of the annual Men’s PacWest Track and Field awards, voted on by the conference’s coaches.
Shemar Palmer repeated, for the third time, as the Track Athlete of the Year and
Robert Foster is the Coach of the Year again.
Tevz Pudlipnik was tabbed as the Freshman Field Athlete of the Year.
Concordia’s Trey Vergenz was named the Field Athlete of the Year, while the coaches voted in
Biola’s Grant Miller as the Track Freshman of the Year.
Shemar Palmer wrapped up one of the most impressive careers in Pacific West Conference history. At the conference championships, he was named the Track Athlete of the Meet for the third straight year, and this is also his third consecutive season to be named the Track Athlete of the Year at the conclusion of the 2026 season.
The native of Jamaicia also earned two silver medals at the NCAA National Championships in the 200 and 400 meters. That came after winning his third consecutive PacWest titles in the 200 and 400. He holds the PacWest meet records in the 200 (20.47) and the 400 (45.77). The senior also anchored the Sunbird’s champion 4 x 400 relay team at the conference meet and he ran second leg on FPU’s race-winning 4 x 100 foursome.
FPU leader
Robert Foster earned Coach of the Year honors for the second straight time in just his second season of leading the Sunbirds. The Sunbirds dominated the PacWest Championships for the second straight spring with the third largest margin of victory in the meet’s history with 265 points to Azusa Pacific’s 158.
Foster’s program had a 12th place finish at the NCAA National Championships, with five men’s All-Americans. This was Fresno Pacific’s final year in the Pacific West Conference as they will move to the CCAA in 2026-27.
One of Foster’s All-American’s was the Freshman of the year,
Tevz Podlipnik. The Slovenia native finished second at the NCAA Championships in the javelin with a personal-best of 72.09 meters (236-6 feet). He was also the PacWest Champion (68.05m) and finished the regular season ranked first in the NCAA. He was named the PacWest Field Athlete of the Week after he improved his NCAA provisional mark with a 72.05-meter javelin throw, earning the number one ranking in the NCAA.
Concordia’s
Trey Vergenz is the PacWest Field Athlete of the Year. He
earned Second Team All-American in both the shot put (14th) and discus (16
th), making him the first CUI male thrower in the NCAA D2 era to be an All-American, and is also the first CUI male athlete to be an All-American in multiple events. The junior repeated as PacWest Champion in the hammer (179-6), he finished second in the shot put and was fourth in the discus.
The Freshman Track Athlete of the Year is Biola’s
Grant Miller. The Whittier native made an impressive splash in his first season, winning the PacWest Championship in the 1500 (3:50.19). He also ran 3:47 this year and narrowly missed the NCAA provisional mark by one second. He finished the regular season ranked first in the conference in the 1500 (3:47.85), second in the 3000m (8:24.23), fourth in the 5000m, (14:36.98) and in seventh in the 800m (1:54.12).
The annual PacWest Track and Field awards are voted on by the conference’s coaches, and take into account the entirety of the 2026 season.
| 2026 ALL-PACWEST MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD AWARDS |
| Track Athlete of the Year |
Shemar Palmer |
Fresno Pacific |
| Field Athlete of the Year |
Trey Vergenz |
Concordia |
| Track Freshman of the Year |
Grant Miller |
Biola |
| Field Freshman of the Year |
Tevz Pudlipnik |
Fresno Pacific |
| Coach of the Year |
Robert Foster |
Fresno Pacific |