WARRENSBURG - Track and field athlete Brent Vogel was named the winner of the Vernon Kennedy Male Athlete of the Year award Monday at the University of Central Missouri's annual athletics banquet.
Vogel (Helias High School) is a two-time national champion and seven-time All-American for the Mules, with chances for more later this season.
He captured the national crown in the heptathlon at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March with a new Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association and national record of 5,760 points. He has helped lead the Mules to an indoor conference championship in each of his seasons at Central Missouri and three outdoor conference crowns with a possible fourth title this coming weekend.
He was named the United States Track and Field and Cross County Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Central Region and National Field Athlete of the Year following the indoor season, becoming the first Mule to win the men's National Field Athlete of the Year award.
He won his first national championship in the decathlon at the 2011 NCAA Outdoor Championships and has the second highest point total in NCAA Division II in the decathlon this year.
Vogel carries a 3.77 grade-point average in biology and is a three-time All-Academic honoree by the USTFCCCA, a three-time MIAA Academic Honor Roll member and a three-time MIAA Scholar-Athlete. He also serves as the Co-President of the Central Missouri Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).