Some portions courtesy of the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame

DENVER (Jan. 14, 2020) - Colorado State University-Pueblo men's track and field senior Thomas Staines (Colorado Springs, Colo.) has been recognized as the 2019 Colorado Sports Hall of Fame Male Collegiate Athlete of the Year and will be among those honored at the 56th annual Colorado Sports Hall of Fame Induction & Awards Banquet, set for April 23 at the Hilton Denver City Center.

"I feel so honored to be given this award," Staines said. "I couldn't do any of it without my teammates, Coach Morris, and of course, CSU-Pueblo. The University has given me the opportunity to compete at the collegiate level, making all of my achievements possible." 

At a meeting Tuesday, the Selection Committee of the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame named Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche the Male Athlete of the Year for 2019 and Eagle-Vail's Mikaela Shiffrin, who won a record 17 times last season on the World Cup ski circuit, the Female Athlete of the Year. The Selection Committee also picked Colorado collegiate stars Staines and Lynnzee Brown (University of Denver gymnastics), along with high school honorees Cohlton Schultz (Ponderosa wrestling) and Anna Hall (Valor Christian track & field) as Athletes of the Year. Multi-sport athlete Greg Mark is the recipient of the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame's 2019 Athlete with Disabilities Award.

MacKinnon, Shiffrin and the other 2019 Athletes of the Year will be honored at the banquet along with the newest Colorado Sports Hall of Fame inductees: Lindsey Vonn, Bob Gebhard, Alonzo Babers, George Gwozdecky, Terry Miller and Erin Popovich. The Colorado Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2020 was selected in October.

Staines, a graduate of Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs, won three NCAA Division II National Championships for CSU-Pueblo in 2019 — two individually in the 800m run (one indoor and one outdoor) and one while anchoring the ThunderWolves' distance medley relay team during the indoor season. His performances helped the CSU-Pueblo men to 10th-place team finishes nationally both indoor and outdoor. Overall for his career, the now-senior has won four national collegiate championships in the 800 — two indoor and two outdoor — and five total titles.

Tickets for the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame Banquet are $200 each and Sponsor tables start at $2,500. For additional ticket and table information, please phone the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame (www.coloradosports.org, 720-258-3535). The Colorado Sports Hall of Fame & Museum is located at Gate 1 on the west side of Empower Field at Mile High at 1701 Bryant Street in Denver.
 
Since its inception in 1965, the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame has inducted 264 individuals, not counting the 2020 class. The first class of inductees featured Earl "Dutch" Clark, Jack Dempsey and former Supreme Court Justice Byron "Whizzer" White. Missy Franklin, Daniel Graham, Todd Lodwick, Tom Southall, Bob Smith and Marv Kay were inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame last April.

FULL STAINES 2019 BIO

Won three NCAA Division II national championships in 2019, twice as an individual in the 800m run and once with the distance medley relay team … Helped the men's track and field team tie for 10th at both the indoor and outdoor national championships for just the fourth and fifth top 10 performances in program history ... Traveled to Vanderbilt University May 31 and ran the elite race of the 800m at the Music City Distance Carnival … With the field littered with professionals and some of the top collegiate athletes in the nation, Staines clocked a time of 1:45.67 to hit a World Championships qualifying standard … Ran in a Diamond League race and competed in the 800m race at the British Championships in August … Totaled three First Team All-American awards … Named the USTFCCCA South Central Region Track Athlete of the Year for both indoor and outdoor championships … Collected three all-region awards … Won four RMAC Championships, three with relay teams and was a four-time All-RMAC First Team selection … Finished the indoor and outdoor seasons with the top 800m time in NCAA Division II … Established an NCAA Division II indoor all-conditions record.
 
INDOOR: NCAA Division II National Champion in the 800m and DMR… USTFCCCA South Central Region Track Athlete of the Year ... USTFCCCA All-Region in the 800m … RMAC Indoor Track Athlete of the Year for the second straight season … RMAC Champion with the DMR and 4x400m relay team … All-RMAC First Team with the DMR and the 4x400m squad …. USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week and RMAC Track Athlete of the Week on Feb. 11 … Owns the seventh fastest time in the world and third among all college divisions this season in the 800m with his time of 1:46.27 … Ran the time at the GVSU Big Meet - Friday to establish an NCAA Division II all-conditions record … Runs the mile leg of the DMR which owned the sixth fastest time in NCAA Division II this season … Also runs the anchor leg of the 4x400m relay team, which had the 20th fastest time in NCAA Division II this season … Both relay squads were RMAC Champions, while the 4x400m relay established a new RMAC Championships record … Staines also ran the 600m in 1:15.31 to break the British record … The mark was the fastest in the world at the time and now ranks third this season and tied for 10th all-time.
 
OUTDOOR: NCAA Division II National Champion in the 800m … USTFCCCA South Central Region Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year … All-Region in the 800m and 4x400m relay … RMAC Champion and All-RMAC First Team with the 4x400m relay squad and in the 400m dash … USTFCCCA National Track Athlete of the Week (May 14) … RMAC Track Athlete of the Week (April 1) … Preseason All-RMAC … Automatic time of 1:47.53 in the 800m run was the fastest in NCAA Division II and ranked 14th among all collegiate divisions this season … Anchored the 4x400m relay squad to an automatic time and school record of 3:08.82 to punch their ticket to the national meet … The relay team owned the seventh fastest time in DII this season … Ran a 47.57 400m time to post a provisional time and sit 34th in Division II.

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As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, Colorado State University – Pueblo competes in 22 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.