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USTFCCCA Men's Regional Award Winners
Men’s Region Outdoor Awards Announced for Division II
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.
