COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 1, 2025) – Colorado State University Pueblo track and field standout student-athlete Katherine Higgins (Mead, Colo./Ponderosa) capped off her decorated collegiate career Tuesday afternoon as the eight-time All-American shot putter was named the 2024-25 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Woman of the Year and will be the league's nominee for the 2024-25 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.

Higgins is the second CSU Pueblo student-athlete to be named the RMAC Woman of the Year and the first since Yasmine Hernandez took home the prestigious honor in 2022. That same year, Hernandez was named a finalist for the 2022-23 NCAA Woman of the Year Award. Overall, the Pack has now had three winners of the RMAC Woman/Man of the Year Award as along with Higgins and Hernandez, former Pack men's cross country/track and field athlete Derrick Williams was named the RMAC Man of the Year in 2018-19.

The NCAA Woman of the Year Award was established in 1991, the award recognizes female student-athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in their community, in athletics and in academics throughout their college careers.

Higgins closed out her collegiate career this past May on her home track at the CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl by not only taking home her first individual National Championship in the shot put, but also earned the NCAA Division II Elite 90 Award (2025 Outdoor Women's Track & Field), which is bestowed to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA's 90 championships.

Her national championship in the women's outdoor shot put this season came after finishing as the national runner-up in the shot put four times – 2025 Indoor, 2024 Indoor, 2023 Outdoor and 2023 Indoor. She qualified for the NCAA National Championships in the shot put seven times in her career and finished either first and second at the national championships five of those seven times.

"All of us here who have worked with Katherine are all very proud of her, what she has accomplished both athletically and academically is outstanding," said Matt Morris, CSU Pueblo head men's and women's track and field and cross country coach. "As coaches we always prioritize process over outcome. What I find most impressive is how Katherine has grown over these past five years, she embraced the challenges, was willing to get out of her comfort zone, and really grew in all aspects of her life.  Katherine truly deserves all of the accolades and praise she gets, and we are excited to follow her success in the future!"

During the 2024-25 school year, Higgins was an All-American in the shot put in both the indoor and outdoor season as she was the runner-up in the event at the NCAA D-II Indoor National Championships and took home the national title during the outdoor season with a career-best mark of 16.38 meters. In addition, she was recently named the 2024-25 RMAC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year and swept both of this year's RMAC Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Academic Athlete of the Year and was a named a College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District selection for the third consecutive year. 

Higgins becomes just the second-ever female student-athlete to capture the conference's two highest honors - Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year and Woman of the Year - in the season, joining Colorado Christian's Sophia Proano in 2017-18. 

"CSU Pueblo has had several student-athletes who have been recognized with his most prestigious award, but I don't think I have ever seen someone attain so much in their final season of competition," said Dr. Paul Plinske, CSU Pueblo Vice President for Athletics and Strategic Partnerships. "After multiple All-American and national runner-up season, Katherine surged to the top of the podium as national champion, while also being the NCAA's Elite 90 Award recipient, RMAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and now RMAC Woman of the Year. What an amazing conclusion to an already incredible athletic career. Congratulations to Katherine on an outstanding final season. There is really no one more deserving."

During her illustrious career, Higgins, who is currently pursuing a master's degree in Education and carries a 4.0 cumulative GPA in graduate school and earned her bachelor's degree in middle school mathematics with a 3.78 cumulative GPA, was an eight-time All-American in the shot put, including earning first-team honors during both the indoor and outdoor seasons the past three years. She was a Second-Team All-American as a redshirt freshman in 2022.

Along with her eight All-American honors, Higgins was an eight-time All-RMAC selection, including earning first-team honors in 2025 in the indoor shot put and weight throw and the outdoor shot put and discus and was a three-time RMAC Champion in the shot put, including capturing the gold medal in the event in both the indoor and outdoor seasons in 2025. Along with winning the RMAC shot put title three times, she was the runner-up in the event three times – 2024 Outdoor, 2023 Outdoor, 2023 Indoor. She was also a seven-time USTFCCCA All-South Central Region honoree, including being named 2025 USTFCCCA South Central Region Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year. 

Higgins, who was a full-time middle school math teacher at Villa Bella Expeditionary School last year, also earned a plethora of academic honors during her time with the Pack as long with the Elite 90 Award and three CSC Academic All-District honors, she was a Third-Team CSC Academic All-American in 2024, an eight-time member of the RMAC All-Academic Track Teams and a three-time member of the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team.

Along with her prowess in track and field, Higgins was also a leader on campus and in the community during her time with the Pack as she dedicated countless hours as a volunteer and student leader. Among some of her community service and campus leadership activities were serving as a New Student Orientation CORE Team Lead, serving as a representative from the women's track and field team on the CSU Pueblo Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), a mathematics tutor and a New Student Orientation leader.

Higgins will be honored with both her RMAC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year and RMAC Woman of the Year award at the 2025 RMAC Hall of Fame Ceremony and Awards Banquet on Thursday, July 10 at the Colorado Springs Marriott in Colorado Springs, Colo. In addition to Higgins, former Pack football player Ryan Jensen (2010-13) and the 2014 CSU Pueblo National Championship football team are two of the seven RMAC Hall of Fame Class of 2025 inductees. The Hall of Fame Ceremony and Awards Banquet will begin at 5 p.m. MT with the awards and induction ceremony beginning at 6 p.m. MT.

Tickets are now available for the 2025 RMAC Hall of Fame Ceremony and Awards Banquet and can be purchased HERE.

Each year, NCAA member schools are encouraged to celebrate their top graduating female student-athletes by nominating them for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award. Up to two female student-athletes can be recognized from each school if at least one of them is an international student-athlete or student-athlete of color.

The conference offices will then select up to two student-athletes from their member school nominations. (If two are chosen, one must be an international student-athlete or student-athlete of color.) Nominees who compete in a sport that is not sponsored by their school's primary conference, as well as associate conference nominees and independent nominees, will be picked to advance by a selection committee. The Woman of the Year Selection Committee will then select 10 student-athletes from each division, determining the Top 30 honorees.

The RMAC Woman of the Year awards honor graduating student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their college career in areas of academic achievement, athletic excellence, community service and leadership.

2024-25 RMAC Woman of the Year Nominees:
Shannon King, Colorado Christian; Sabrina VanDeList, Colorado Mesa; Reese McDermott, Colorado School of Mines; Alisha Little, CSU Pueblo; Riley Anderson, MSU Denver; Megan Bunker, Regis; Alessandra Meoni, South Dakota Mines; Kiley Metzger, South Dakota Mines; and Rachel Cockman, Western Colorado.