COLORADO SPRINGS - Colorado School of Mines pole vaulter Hunter Potrykus has been selected as the 2024-25 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the conference's highest academic honor.

Potrykus completed a decorated career for the Orediggers this season as an all-American for the fourth time, departing Mines as both the indoor and outdoor pole vault recordholder with a long list of accolades earned over his time in Golden.

Potrykus earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering earned in May 2024, and received his master's in thermal fluid systems this past May. He had a 3.929 undergraduate and 4.0 graduate GPA. He received numerous academic awards over his career, including the 2024 College Sports Communicators Division II Track & Field Academic All-American of the Year honor for Division II track & field. He was the 2025 RMAC Men's Indoor Academic Athlete of the Year, and has a been a two-time First-Team Academic All-American and four-time USTFCCCA All-Academic selection. 

In competition, the five-time RMAC pole vault champion (two outdoor, three indoor) finished his career as the RMAC's co-record holder in the outdoor pole vault with a mark of 5.41m set in 2024. This season, he returned for his final season of indoor track & field eligibility and finished with a fourth-place finish – his best ever – at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships. His performance helped Mines achieve a third-place finish for its best-ever NCAA Championship team finish. He was a four-time USTFCCCA All-American including three first-team finishes at nationals. 

The RMAC Male and Female Scholar-Athlete Awards are the highest academic honors bestowed by the conference. A student-athlete must have completed at least two academic terms at a member institution while maintaining a 3.50 cumulative grade-point average, and participated in an RMAC-sponsored championship sport; nominees come from any of the RMAC's sponsored sports. Potrykus was one of 13 nominees for the 2025 award, joined by CSU Pueblo's Shjon Andrews, UCCS' Kyle Demos, Chadron State's Brodie Eisenbraun, Western Colorado's Ricky Freymond, Colorado Christian's Peyton Jones, MSU Denver's Caleb McGill, Regis' Adam Paniagua, Westminster's Chase Potter, New Mexico Highlands' Ivan Smith, Black Hills State's David Standish, South Dakota Mines' Aiden Thompson, and Colorado Mesa's Dejan Urbanek. 

Potrykus is the third Oredigger to win the prestigious honor, joining cross country/track & field distance runner Duncan Fuehne (2023) and men's basketball's Gokul Natesan (2017). Potrykus will be honored as part of the RMAC Hall of Fame and Awards Banquet on July 10 at the Colorado Springs Marriott.