2018 Pacific West Conference Athletes of the Year

IRVINE, Calif. – After winning four NCAA Division II National Championships and five All-American honors in 2018, Mobolade Ajomale became the first Academy of Art University Athletics student-athlete to be named Pacific West Conference Male Athlete of the Year. The award, voted on by the PacWest's sports information directors, was announced by the conference's media relations office on Wednesday.

"It's always great to be recognized for your hard work and I believe that is happening for Bolade this year," said head coach Kevin LaSure. "We're extremely proud of all that he has accomplished thus far and the most exciting part is that he still has a lot more room for growth."

Spring-boarding from a sophomore season in which he earned three national titles and hoisted four All-American trophies, Ajomale went right to work this past indoor campaign. He posted a Nationals automatic qualifying time in the 60m hurdles in his first meet then later captured U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) DII National Athlete of the Week with a new Division II 200m record at the Boston University Last Chance Meet.

At Indoor Nationals, Ajomale successfully defended both of his titles, finishing first in the 60m and 200m. The Richmond Hill, Canada native dropped a 6.60 to edge Tiffin's Jonte Baker for his third consecutive 60m individual championship then bettered Ashland's Myles Pringle with a 20.91 for the 200m trophy, becoming one of just two men NCAA history to win back-to-back titles in those events as well as one of just three men to win a total of five career individual indoor event titles.

In the outdoor portion of the season, Ajomale dominated once again. He opened with one of his top 100m times at the Sacramento State Hornet Invitational and went on to be named 2018 PacWest Men's Track Athlete of the Year after capturing PacWest outdoor titles this year in the 100m, 200m, 400m, and 4x100m all on the same day. At Outdoor Nationals, the Communications & Media Technologies major assisted ART U's fifth-place finish in the 4x100m relay for All-American honors, won the 100m with a time of 10.18 (just 0.01 shy of his lifetime-best and program record) and then, just over an hour later, returned to earn the 200m championship by way of a 20.45.

Now an eight-time individual champion and 14-time All-American, Ajomale became the first athlete to double up in the 100m and 200m since Minnesota State's Emmanuel Matadi did so in 2015. Ajomale finished with a total of 21 points at the meet, the most of any male track-only student-athlete, and concluded the outdoor campaign as the USTFCCCA DII Men's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year.

Ajomale is the second student-athlete in ART U Athletics history to be named PacWest Athlete of the Year after Vashti Thomas collected the honor in 2013.