Elayna Chafee, a University of Wyoming track and field athlete and former Kelly Walsh Trojan, recently earned the Hal Rothman Sportsmanship Award for her actions at the Mountain West Indoor Championships. She is the first Cowgirl to earn the conference award since it was established in 2006.

Award Background

The award is named in honor of the late UNLV faculty athletics representative Hal Rothman and is presented to a student athlete in a MW-sponsored sport who has distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior.

Chafee placed third in the triple jump during the MW indoor conference championship, with a jump that was roughly three feet better than her season average and 1.5 feet better than her career best. She knew that the measurement was anomalous to what she had jumped on the day and was an obvious mis-mark.

Though it was officially recorded and could not be changed, she wasn’t OK with accepting the medal, and decided to not step onto the podium. Later, Chafee presented the medal to who she believed was the rightful award recipient.

Chafee’s Background

Chafee, from Casper, graduated this spring with a degree in Kinesiology and Health Promotions. She is now pursuing a Doctor of Physical Therapy at Texas Tech University Health Science Center.

Over her career as a Cowgirl, she posted four top-10 program marks in the indoor long and triple jump, outdoor triple jump and 4×100-meter relay.

Original reporting: Oil City News (Casper WY) — read the source article.