Fraley named Gonzaga's Male Senior Athlete of the Year
Troy Fraley, a 2013 Glacier grad, accepts the Male Senior Athlete of the Year award from Gonzaga athletic director Mike Roth at the seventh annual Evening of Excellence in Spokane, Washington. (Gonzaga Athletics courtesy photo)
Gonzaga junior Troy Fraley leaps over the water pit during the 3,000-meter steeplechase semifinals on Wednesday at the NCAA outdoor track and field national championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. Fraley finished seventh in the finals on Friday, becoming the first All-American finisher in Gonzaga history. (TracktownPhoto.com photo)
By EVAN MCCULLERS
The Daily Inter Lake
SPOKANE — Troy Fraley was a bit taken aback when he received an email approximately a week before Gonzaga’s seventh annual Evening of Excellence event informing him he’d be receiving the Male Senior Athlete of the Year award.
“I think usually it’s someone on the basketball team (receiving the honor),” Fraley said with a laugh. “Prior to getting the email, I had no expectation of (winning the award).”
But even the big sport on campus couldn’t upstage the career Fraley, a 2013 Glacier grad, has enjoyed at Gonzaga.
He captured two school records on the track — in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and the indoor 3,000-meter run — and is the first track athlete to be honored with the Male Senior Athlete of the Year award.
“That was a huge honor, and I’m definitely not going to take that lightly,” Fraley said.
Fraley says the highlight of his career was his performance in the steeplechase last year. He won the event at the NCAA West Regionals and went on to finish seventh at the NCAA Championships, earning himself All-American status.
“Obviously, the NCAA Championships last year were incredible,” Fraley said. “Just having my entire team make the road trip down to Eugene to watch and cheer was awesome.”
Fraley, a cross country standout at Glacier, also shined on the course at Gonzaga.
He holds the second-best time in school history in the 8k (23:39) and the third-best mark in the 10k (30:07).
Fraley has been largely unable to build on last year’s success in “pretty tumultuous” senior cross country and track seasons due to lingering injuries.
“I can’t say that there’s really been any particular high points this year, because it’s been a bit disappointing,” Fraley said. “Everyone has to deal with injuries in running at some point in their career, and mine happened to be in my final two semesters, which is unfortunate.”
After graduation, Fraley plans to move to Cheney, Washington, while his fiancé finishes school at Eastern Washington. He says he’ll continue training in hopes of landing a professional contract.
For as good as college was to Fraley, he hopes even better days remain on the horizon.
“I’d like to think I’ve gotten a lot out of Gonzaga and they’ve done a lot of good things for me,” Fraley said, “but I’ve done good things for the program, as well.”