Williams, Thomas, Mantooth & Suckstorf Earn Division II Outdoor T&F National Coach of the Year Honors

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Williams, Thomas, Mantooth & Suckstorf Earn Division II Outdoor T&F National Coach of the Year Honors
May 28, 2014

NEW ORLEANS – The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced Wednesday its National Head Coaches and Assistant Coaches of the Year for the 2014 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field season, as voted on by USTFCCCA member coaches themselves.

Head Coach of the Year honors went to the national championship coaches George Williams of the Saint Augustine's men and Victor Thomas of the Lincoln (Mo.) women. Men's and Women's Assistant Coach of the Year accolades were awarded to Brian Mantooth of Pittsburg State and Brett Suckstorf of Wayne State, respectively.

MORE INFO: Past Winners


George Williams
Saint Augustine's

Williams, in his 26th year at Saint Augustine's, led his Falcons to their second consecutive outdoor team title and their 12th in program history. After only narrowly claiming the indoor team title by 1½ point over Adams State, his squad left no lingering doubt outdoors with a 112-67 victory over Adams State. The total was the highest since Abilene Christian's 115 in 2000.

A nation-leading 22 All-American honors were awarded to Williams' squad, including individual national titles by Ty'reak Murray (100H) and Roxroy Cato (400H), and relay crowns in both the 4x100 and 4x400 events. Five more events saw Saint Augs finish runner-up, with three more third-place finishes.

Prior to NCAAs, Williams' squad won their 17th consecutive title at the CIAA Championships.


Victor Thomas
Lincoln (Mo.)

Thomas, in his 12th season guiding the program at Lincoln (Mo.), saw his Blue Tigers claim their first national team title since 2009 and their seventh overall. Lincoln edged out Johnson C. Smith for the crown by a score of 64-59.

Thomas' squad swept both the 4x100 and 4x400 relays as his Blue Tigers tied third-place Grand Valley State with a nation-leading 18 All-America awards in eight different events. Individually, his Lincoln team was led by runner-up Janae Johnson (200 meters) and Yanique Ellington (third, 100 meters; fourth 200 meters).

Before winning the national title, his team won their fourth MIAA team title in a row.


Brian Mantooth
Pittsburg State

Men's National Assistant Coach Mantooth, in his fifth season at Pittsburg State, guided his Gorilla throwers to two All-America honors at the NCAA Championships in helping the squad to a fifth-place finish.

Under his tutelage, Bo Farrow finished third in the discus as a first-year collegian and Garrett Appier was fourth in the shot put.

Those two led a throws contingent that scored 62 of Pittsburg State's 145 team points to win the MIAA team crown.


Brett Suckstorf
Wayne State (Neb.)

National Women's Assistant Coach Suckstorf, in his fourth year at Wayne State (Neb.), mentored his throwers to a pair of top-three finishes at the NCAA Championships to account for all of the Wildcats' 14 team points.

Sara Wells was runner-up in the shot put and Carly Fehringer took the third position in the hammer throw at NCAAs.

That duo was among the group of Wayne State throwers who scored 59 of the Wildcats' 60 team points at the NSIC Championships.




U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association
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Contact: Kyle Terwillegar
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kyle@ustfccca.org
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