COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Adams State’s Lauren Martin is the 2015-16 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Woman of the Year.

Martin, an exceedingly accomplished cross country and track & field student-athlete, is the second recipient of the RMAC Woman of the Year. She is also nominated for the 26th annual NCAA Woman of the Year Award.

“I love Alamosa and Adams State,” Martin said. “This place has always been my home. This community has supported me my entire life and I want to continue to pay it forward.”

The NCAA Woman of the Year Award honors graduating student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, community service and leadership.

Martin is a political science major with a 3.78 grade-point average in her undergraduate studies. She’s also pursued a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) with an emphasis in Leadership, racking up a 3.90 GPA in her graduate studies.

Her achievements in the classroom, combined with her athletic endeavors, have made her a four-time CoSIDA Academic All-American in cross country and a three-time Academic All-American in track and field. She was an RMAC Scholar-Athlete selection last year. She’s also landed on the RMAC All-Academic list in both cross country and track and field four straight years.

“As a high school athlete, I could only dream of being on the Adams State University team and making an athletic contribution,” Martin said. “Being an average runner in high school required me to dedicate myself to training, follow my coach’s guidance and learn from the great mentors who were part of the running family. It was this winning combination that resulted in my athletic success.”

Her academic prowess led her to be selected, along with four other Adams State students, to produce an economic feasibility study on the impact of athletics on the campus.

Of course, many of those honors took into account her many impressive achievements as an athlete at Adams State.

Martin ended her career as a four-time National Champion, including two national titles at the 2016 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships. She won both the 10,000-Meter race and the 5,000-Meter race this season. She accomplished the same feat in 2014.

Along with her national titles, she was also a nine-time All-American, including once in cross country in 2012. She was also a five-time RMAC champion, winning the 10k conference title this season.

Outside of her work in the classroom and in competition, Martin was also a valuable member of the Alamosa, Colorado community and the Adams State campus. She was the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Vice-President at Adams State, helping give the ASU student-athletes a voice at the NCAA level.

She served in a number of community programs, including the Special Olympics, which she volunteered for eight weeks each spring. She also served as a guest speaker at local elementary schools.

“The confidence I gained in running provided me the courage to be a leader in the Special Olympics program in my community,” Martin said. “For eight weeks each spring my relationships grew with these athletes as they prepared for competition and my heart was warmed as they gave it their all for me as a coach.”

Her community service volunteer experience spanned from Earth Day clean-ups to meal prep for La Puente, a local homeless shelter.

All conference nominees will be forwarded to the NCAA Woman of the Year selection committee. The selection committee will choose the top 10 nominees in each division. From among those 30 honorees, the selection committee will determine the top three in each division.