May 20, 2011
NEW ORLEANS -- The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced on Friday winners of regional awards for the 2011 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field season. Sixteen male student-athletes earned awards as a track or field Athlete of the Year while 16 USTFCCCA members earned plaudits as a coach or assistant coach of a men’s team.
Most of the award winners will participate in the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships to be held next weekend, May 26-28, in Turlock, Calif. Cal State Stanislaus will serve as host on at their home Al Brenda Track at Warrior Stadium.
2011 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field – Region Award Winners
Men's Track Athlete of the Year
ATLANTIC REGION - Leford Green - Johnson C. Smith
Green, a senior from St. Catherine, Jamaica, earned 2011 CIAA Male Athlete of the Meet honors after winning the 400 meters and 400-meter hurdles, finishing second in the 200 meters, and running a leg on the Golden Bulls’ second-place 4x400-meter relay. Green will look to extend his undefeated season over the single-lap distance next weekend, as he has the fastest entering marks in both the 400 meters and the 400-meter hurdles.
CENTRAL REGION - Derek Bredy - MSU Moorhead
The Hoffman, Minn. sophomore earned the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference High Point Award after a performance that included championships in the 100 meters, 200 meters, and as a member of the school’s 4x100-meter relay. His efforts helped Moorhead secure the conference team championship. Bredy will compete in all three sprint events at this weekend’s NCAA Division II Championships.
EAST REGION - Evan White - UMass Lowell
A sophomore from Tewksbury, Mass., White is the 2011 Northeast-10 Track Athlete of the Year and the NE-10 Champion in the 400 meters. He also won the 200 meters, 400 meters, and ran a leg on the winning 4x400-meter relay at the New England Championships. White has the third-fastest entering time in the 400 meters at this weekend’s Championships, and he will also compete as a member of the Riverhawks’ seventh-ranked 4x400-meter relay.
MIDWEST REGION - Dustin Emerick - Southern Indiana
Emerick plans to put in a lot of miles at next weekend’s NCAA Division II Championships, as the junior will run the 5,000-meter/10,000-meter double. He has the second-fastest entering time in the 10,000 meters at 28:41.62, and the eighth-fastest entering time in the 5,000 meters. Emerick is from Elmwood, Ill.
SOUTH REGION - Daniel Kirwa - Harding
Kirwa conducted a middle-distance clinic at the South Regional Invitational, winning the 800-meter, 1,500-meter, and 5,000-meter races. The senior from Eldoret, Kenya, ranks third in the 5,000 meters heading into this weekend’s NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships, with a season-best time of 14:02.73.
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION - Desmond Jackson - Abilene Christian
Jackson, a senior, is the 2011 Lone Star Conference Champion in both the 100 meters and 200 meters with season-best performances of 10.10 and 20.58 seconds, respectively. Both times are the fastest recorded by any NCAA Division II student-athlete this season. Jackson is from Midland, Texas.
SOUTHEAST REGION - Maurice Eubanks - UNC Pembroke
A senior from Siler City, N.C., Eubanks will compete in the 100 meters and 200 meters at this weekend’s NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Earlier this season, he put on a strong performance at the Southeast Region Championship with a win in the 200 meters, a second-place finish in the 400 meters, and two wins as a member of the Braves’ 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relay squads.
WEST REGION - Alfred Kangogo - Alaska Anchorage
Kangogo ranks third nationally in the 1,500 meters headed into this weekend’s NCAA Division II Championships. At the 2011 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships, he finished second in the 1,500 meters, finished seventh in the 800 meters, and ran on the school’s conference champion 4x400-meter relay. Kangogo is a junior from Eldoret, Kenya.
Men's Field Athlete of the Year
ATLANTIC REGION - Orolando Duffus - Saint Augustine's
A junior from St. Catherine, Jamaica, Duffus has qualified for the NCAA Championships in both the long and triple jumps. With season bests of 24-6¼ (7.47m) and 49-1¾ (14.98m), respectively, Duffus has top-15 national seeds in both events. Duffus was CIAA Champion of both events and added a fourth-place finish in the high jump.
CENTRAL REGION - Dane Tobey - Neb.-Kearney
Tobey, a senior from Waco, Neb., was named RMAC Field Athlete of the Year where he scored 34 team points for the Lopers with conference titles in the discus, shot put, and hammer. Tobey is seeded in the top five of both the shot put and discus for the NCAA Championships, having season bests of 60-6¾ (18.46m) and 187-1 (57.03m), respectively in the event. Tobey also was the Drake Relays runner-up in the shot put this season.
EAST REGION - Diwani Augustine - Southern Connecticut
Augustine, a senior from East Hartford, Conn., was the champion of the long and triple jumps at the All-Division New England Championships with season bests of 24-3½ (7.40m) and 49-9¾ (15.18m), respectively. Augustine is slated to participate in both events at the NCAA Championships and holds a top-ten seed in the triple jump.
MIDWEST REGION - Kurt Roberts - Ashland
Roberts, a senior from Lancaster, Ohio, went undefeated this season with the shot put, including against Division I competition. With a Division II-leading season best of 64-1¾ (19.55m), Roberts ranks third among all NCAA divisions and 13th in the U.S. in 2011.
SOUTH REGION - LaQuan Priest - Claflin
Priest, a junior, will enter the NCAA Championships in the triple jump as the seventh seed thanks to a season’s best of 50-2 (15.29m). Priest was the winner of the triple jump in the SIAC.
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION - Nick Jones - Abilene Christian
Jones, a junior and native of Amarillo, Texas, will enter the NCAA Championships as the No. 1 seed in the discus with a season’s best of 198-7 (60.53m) and as the No. 3 seed in the shot put where he posted a mark of 60-8½ (18.50m) this year. Jones was the LSC champ in both events.
SOUTHEAST REGION - Will Byars - Anderson (S.C.)
Byars, a sophomore from Anderson, S.C., finished the season and earned all-region honors as the top-ranked regional athlete in the shot put and No. 2 in the hammer throw. Byars also was eighth in the region in the discus and javelin.
WEST REGION - Josh Como - Cal State LA
Como, a senior from Moreno Valley, Calif., is the division’s leader in the triple jump with a career best of 54-8 (16.66m) – a performance that occurred in winning UCLA’s Jackie Joyner-Kersee/Rafer Johnson Invitational. The leap moved him to fourth on the all-time Division II list and is the best jump by a D-II athlete since 1991. Como, the CCAA champ in the triple jump and runner-up in the long jump, also goes to the NCAA meet as the sixth seed in the long jump with a season’s best of 24-11 (7.59m).
Men's Assistant Coach of the Year
In Division II, awards for assistant coach of the year are judged based on both indoor and outdoor seasons.
ATLANTIC REGION - Steve Spence - Shippensburg University
In his 16th season as the mid-distance and distance coach, Spence coached athletes to 68 points in five events to help Shippensburg win the PSAC Outdoor Championships. His athletes earned nine qualifying performances with three entries making the field next week. At the NCAA Indoor Championships, Shippensburg athletes finished second in the 5K and won the DMR. After a ninth-place national finish indoors, the Raiders are currently ranked 20th nationally and finished first in the region.
CENTRAL REGION - Jim Vahrenkamp - Augustana (S.D.)
In just his second season with the Vikings, Vahrenkamp coached six provisional and two automatic qualifiers for the national championships. During the indoor season, his athletes broke three school records, won a National title and earned five All-American honors on route to an 11th place team finish. At the NSIC Championships, Augustana finished second indoors and fourth outdoors.
EAST REGION - Nick Lara - Southern Connecticut State University
The first year distance coach has three men among the top nine national performances in the 800m. Lara’s athletes scored 22 team points to help the Owls win their first New England Team Championship. During the indoor season, his athletes set SCSU school records in the DMR and 800m and earned six USTFCCCA All-America performances indoors.
MIDWEST REGION - Joe Lynn - Grand Valley State
Assisting with the middle distance events and overseeing the long distance events, this fifth-year coach has six Laker athletes competing at the national championships, including three steeplechasers ranked in the top 14. Lynn’s events were responsible for earning 92 points at the indoor GLIAC Championships and 82 points at the outdoor GLIAC Championships.
SOUTH REGION - Bryan Phillips - Harding
Phillips oversees the throws, jumps, hurdlers, and sprinters for Harding. The Bison’s 4x400m relay team is currently ranked 3rd in Division II.
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION - Tom Dibbern - Angelo State
Dibbern, in his seventh year at Angelo State, works with the horizontal jumps, javelin, and 4x100m relay. Dibbern has Ram athletes nationally ranked in the long jump (fourth), triple jump (sixth and 15th), javelin (fifth and seventh) and 4x100 (17th) among the program’s 14 championship entries.
SOUTHEAST REGION - Adonis Stanley - UNC Pembroke
The graduate assistant coach has two individual athletes and a 4x100-relay team with provisional marks. Stanley’s sprint squad finished first in the 100 meters, 4x100 & 4x400 relays; first and second in the 200-meter dash; and second in the 400 meters at the Southeast Region Championships to assist the Braves to the team title. Between the indoor and outdoor 2011 seasons, Stanley coached 42 top-five finishes.
WEST REGION - Issac Frederick - Western Oregon
Frederick’s distance crew helped the Wolves earn team GNAC honors both indoors and outdoors during 2011. The Western Oregon alum directly coached four athletes to GNAC titles and guided 17 NCAA qualifying standards with two distance runners making the outdoor championships field.
Men's Coach of the Year
ATLANTIC REGION - George Williams - Saint Augustine's
By claiming the 2011 CIAA title, George Williams added to the impressive tally of over 150 conference championships that he has amassed as the track & field coach at St. Augustine’s. The Falcons will be sending sixteen entries to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. His team is third nationally heading into the championship meet.
CENTRAL REGION - Keith Barnier - MSU Moorhead
Scoring 162 points, Keith Barnier’s Eagles claimed the NSIC Conference championship by 55½ points. MSU will be represented with eight entries at the NCAA Championships. The Eagle men claimed four NSIC individual championships and two relays. MSU athletes produced 21 All-NSIC performances. This was the first NSIC outdoor team title in ten years and followed their 2011 indoor title. MSU enters the national championship meet ranked 21st in the national team rankings.
EAST REGION - John Wallin - Southern Connecticut
In his first year as head coach, Wallin led the Owls to the Northeast-10 Championship, and, for first time, won the all-division laden New England Championships. Southern Connecticut will be represented with eight entries at the NCAA Championships. The Owls are ranked 14th nationally and finished the season No. 1 in the East region.
MIDWEST REGION - Jerremy Croy - Tiffin
Croy's Dragons finished a best-ever third place at the GLIAC Championships with 126 points, one point out of second place. The Dragons broke seven school records during the outdoor season and will compete with five entries at the NCAA Outdoor Championship meet.
SOUTH REGION - Steve Guymon - Harding
Guymon’s men’s team won the South Region Championship for the first time, scoring over 200 points. The Bison’s will compete in four events at the NCAA Championship meet.
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION - Roosevelt Lofton - Abilene Christian
Lofton’s Wildcats have been ranked No. 1 in the nation for the last five weeks. The Lone Star Conference Champions will have sixteen entries competing at the NCAA Outdoor Championship meet, with three athletes that are ranked No. 1 on the national list along with the top-ranked 4x100 relay team.
SOUTHEAST REGION - Larry Rodgers - UNC Pembroke
Coach Larry Rodgers’ UNC Pembroke Braves claimed the 2011 Southeast Region Championship, leading to a No. 1 standing in the final Southeast Region rankings. The Braves will be represented in two events at the 2011 NCAA Outdoor Championship meet.
WEST REGION - Kirk Freitas - Chico State
Freitas’ Wildcats scored in 18 of the 21 events to finish with 237 points, 94 points ahead of second place team in claiming the CCAA title. Chico State closed out the regular season ranked No. 1 in the West Region, and Freitas earned CCAA coach of the year honors. The Wildcats will have four entries competing at the NCAA Championships.
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Tom Lewis
U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association
Communications Manager
1100 Poydras St., Suite 1750
New Orleans, LA 70163
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Email: tom@ustfccca.org
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