(KLZA)-- The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association (USTF-CCCA) have announced the national awards for outdoor track and field in the NAIA on Thursday afternoon. Doane's Kale Wolken (SR/Tecumseh, Neb.) was recognized as the NAIA National Field Athlete-of-the-Year.

Wolken capped off his collegiate career by breaking the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) national meet record in the decathlon in Gulf Shores, Alabama, last week. He posted 7,830 points, topping the previous mark set in 1996 by Alper Kasapoglu of Western Oregon by 12 points. On the same day, Wolken also took fifth place in the long jump which was occurring simultaneously with the decathlon.

For Wolken, he ended his career with 15 NAIA All-American honors and won six individual national championships. His national titles came in the combined events, winning the last three indoor heptathlon titles and last three decathlon titles, the first to ever accomplish the feat.

This year, he received the Doane Male Athlete-of-the-Year honor for the third straight year. He was named the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Indoor and Outdoor Male Athlete-of-the-Year and during the outdoor national championship, he received the NAIA Male Performer-of-the-Meet award.

He will now turn his focus in the short-term to training for the USA Olympic Trials as a likely qualifier in the decathlon.