Bradley Makuvire, Kaitlin Smith named Southland Indoor Track & Field Student Athletes of the Year

Makuvire captures first Student-Athlete of the Year award, Smith adds to extensive trophy case with latest academic honor

FRISCO, Texas – Southeastern’s Bradley Makuvire and HBU’s Kaitlin Smith are the Southland Conference Indoor Track & Field Student-Athletes of the Year, the league announced Wednesday. Southland yearly awards are presented by GEICO.

Makuvire earned his latest honor after an impressive indoor season, where he took the Southland title in the men’s 3000m and 5000m events. The sophomore anchored the DMR that finished second with a 4:06.33, breaking the school record at 10:00.33. Makuvire earned Men’s Outstanding Running Events Performer for his performance at the Conference Championship. The Zvishavance, Zimbabwe, native currently holds a 3.51 GPA as a psychology major.

Smith added yet another award to her already impressive resume after closing out the 2022 indoor season with a Second Team All-America honor at the 2022 NCAA Indoor Championships. Smith earned Athlete of the Year and Co-Most Valuable Performer honors at the 2022 SLC Indoor Championships after winning the pentathlon for the third-straight year, securing gold in the 60-meter hurdles and tying for fourth in the high jump. She finished the pentathlon with a meet record 4,118 points. Smith carried a 4.0 GPA earning a B.S. in kinesiology, the senior completed her M.S. in sport management in December 2021.

The Southland Student-Athlete of the Year award is presented to one student-athlete who achieves excellence in both academics and athletics. All nominees must have earned at least a 3.2 GPA on a 4.0 scale and demonstrated athletics achievement for at least two years at the nominating institution.

All-Academic teams are named for indoor and outdoor track & field after the conclusion of the outdoor track & field season.