COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference released its winners of individual awards and All-Conference teams for softball this Tuesday morning, as the Mavericks took home six different selections with Jessalyn Gallegos leading the group by being awarded the Freshman of the Year.
Gallegos was the team's lone representative to win a major award this season with there being six members on the All-RMAC teams and one earning Gold Glove honors.
Earning spots on the First Team were the trio of Myah Arrieta, Ally Distler and Makayla Westmoreland with each of them finishing as top hitters in the conference this season.
This was the fourth time in Distler's career that she earned All-RMAC after being selected to First Team in 2022 and 2024 while also being a Second Team pick in 2021. Arrieta is a three-time recipient of All-RMAC honors with her being a First Team player in both 2022 and 2024. Westmoreland is a first-time honoree.
Turning in the two spots on the Second Team were the pair of Gallegos and Chloe Valdez with Valdez now earning All-RMAC honors in back-to-back years after being an Honorable Mention selection last season. Gallegos earned her first accolades of her career after missing last season due to injury.
In addition to Valdez's honor on Second Team she was also picked to this year's Gold Glove Team for second base.
Preslee Christensen was the team's final selection for All-RMAC with the senior earning a spot on the Honorable Mention squad. She was selected to the First Team a season ago.
All of the awards were voted on by the league's head coaches.
Arrieta, who's one of the few local players on the team, had yet another stellar season for the Mavs this spring with the Senior hitting .417 to accompany 70 hits, 31 of which came with extra bases. She totaled 15 home runs to tie for second most in the conference while racking up 57 RBIs in the team's leadoff position to rank first on the squad. Arrieta served as the team's every day short stop starting all 50 games on the year.
Distler has been another constant for the Mavs during her time in Grand Junction with this season being no different in her impact. On the year Distler hit .312 to end the regular season while recording 48 hits with 12 doubles and 15 home runs. She tied with Arrieta for second in the conference in home runs with that mark. Distler was selected as a utility pick to this year's team with her splitting time both at catcher and in the outfield, making over 20 starts at each.
Westmoreland has seen action every year since her arrival on the team with this year being her best season yet. Hitting .342, Westmoreland had the second most hits on the team with 55, while racking up 13 doubles and 4 triples. She also swiped 10 bags with 23 RBIs. Westmoreland is one of four players to have started every game this season with her being an outfield selection.
Gallegos, who's served as the team's top pitcher this season, finished her regular season campaign with an outstanding 17-3 record while leading the team in over five different pitching categories. Gallegos totaled 150.1 innings this season over 27 appearances while striking out 150 and walking just 34. She also recorded 16 complete games and two saves.
Valdez, who bumps up a team from last year's selections, is hitting .313 on her season with 12 doubles and seven home runs. She has 38 RBIs to rank third on the team while also being a perfect 6-6 on stolen bases. In her selection to the Gold Glove Team, she earns this honor after fielding .977 this season with 86 assists and 82 putouts on 172 total chances. She was guilty of just four errors while being apart of 15 double plays.
Christensen rounds out as the team's final selection thanks to her having a strong second half of the season in the circle. Christensen has gone 10-4 this year with an ERA of 2.13 while totaling 82 innings pitched. She's made 21 different appearances while also owning two shutouts. Opponent's are hitting just .227 against her.
