USTFCCCA ::: National Indoor Track & Field Awards Announced for NCAA Division I

Mar 14, 2012 by FloTrack Staff

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National Indoor Track & Field Awards Announced for NCAA Division I

Both Florida men, Oregon women won third-straight indoor national team crowns

March 14, 2012

NEW ORLEANS – The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announces the national award winners for 2012 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field season as chosen by the nation’s coaches. Arizona’s Lawi Lalang, Duke’s Curtis Beach, Kansas’ Diamond Dixon, and Oregon’s Brianne Theisen claimed honors as National Athletes of the Year. National-championship coaches Florida’s Mike Holloway and Oregon’s Robert Johnson were named National Coaches of the Year. Texas’ Mario Sategna and Kansas’ Wayne Pate are the National Assistant Coaches of the Year.

National Men’s Track Athlete of the Year

Lawi Lalang, Arizona

Lalang, a sophomore from Eldoret, Kenya, had one of the most noteworthy collegiate indoor seasons of all-time. In a total of five distance races, Lalang never lost to a collegian, set a new collegiate record in the 5000 meters, and won two NCAA titles.

At the NCAA Championships, Lalang scored the 3000-5000 double with titles in both events – the first to do so since Oregon’s Galen Rupp in 2009. In the 5000, Lalang claimed a new NCAA-Championships record with a 13:25.11 run, clocking 28.09 in the final 200 meters in holding off Stanford’s Chris Derrick. The next night, Lalang again held off Derrick and won the 3000 by a sixth-of-a-second in 7:46.64, just off the meet record of 7:46.03. Lalang closed the 3000 with laps of 28.60 and 27.28.

Earlier in the season, Lalang toppled the collegiate record in the 5000 meters by 10 seconds with a 13:08.28 run at the Millrose Games where he finished second only to professional Bernard Lagat.

Lalang also won the MPSF 3000-meter title in 7:44.48 (OT) and opened the season by winning the Razorback Invitational mile in 3:55.09, the third-fastest time in collegiate history.

Recent Winners:

2012: Lawi Lalang, Arizona

2011: Miles Batty, BYU

2010: Torrin Lawrence, Georgia

2009: Galen Rupp, Oregon

2008: Leo Manzano, Texas

2007: Chris Solinsky, Wisconsin

2006: Xavier Carter, LSU

National Men’s Field Athlete of the Year

Curtis Beach, Duke

Beach, a junior from Albuquerque, N.M., was the indoor season’s NCAA and ACC Champion of the heptathlon. With a score of 6,183 points in the event at the national championships, Beach became the third-best performer in the collegiate history of the event. Beach sits only behind world-record holder Ashton Eaton (Oregon) and Olympic medalist and two-time World Champion Trey Hardee (Texas) on the all-time list.

Also at the NCAA Championships, Beach reset his own heptathlon world record by four seconds in the 1000 meters with a run of 2:23.63 to secure overall victory. The time also placed him in the collegiate top ten of the open 1000 for the season.

Beach won the ACC title in the heptathlon by nearly 600 points with a score of 5,862.

Recent Winners:

2012: Curtis Beach, Duke

2011: Derek Drouin, Indiana

2010: Ashton Eaton, Oregon

2009: Ashton Eaton, Oregon

2008: Ryan Whiting, Arizona State

2007: Donovan Kilmartin, Texas

Donald Thomas, Auburn

2006: Trey Hardee, Texas

National Men’s Coach of the Year

Mike Holloway, Florida

Holloway, in his tenth year at the helm at Florida, guided the Gators to their third-straight NCAA Indoor Track & Field team title this season. Florida held off SEC rival Arkansas for the 2012 national crown, scoring 52 points to the 49 posted by the Razorbacks. The Gators joined Arkansas and UTEP as the only teams to have won at least three consecutive national indoor crowns.

Florida won three individual titles at the national meet. Jeff Demps won his third-straight crown at 60 meters, Tony McQuay was national champ of the 400, and Omar Craddock claimed victory in the triple jump.

The Gators finished runner-up at the SEC Indoor Championships.

Recent Winners:

2012: Mike Holloway, Florida

2011: Mike Holloway, Florida

2010: Mike Holloway, Florida

2009: Dan Steele, Oregon

2008: Greg Kraft, Arizona State

2007: Ed Nuttycombe, Wisconsin

National Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year

Mario Sategna, Texas

Sategna guided Texas to a seventh-place national team finish as the Longhorns scored all of their 22Â½ team points in field events that he coaches. Texas went 2-5 in the shot put with Jacob Thormaehlen and Ryan Crouser. Marquise Goodwin added a third-place national showing in the long jump, Maston Wallace was sixth in the pole vault, and freshman Petter Olson was seventh in the heptathlon.

In addition, five individuals won Big 12 titles under Sategna’s tutelage and scored 93 of 133 Longhorn team points at the conference meet. Sategna is in his ninth year at Texas.

Recent Winners:

2012: Mario Sategna, Texas

2011: Dick Booth, Florida

2010: David Dumble, Arizona State

2009: Brian O’Neal, Florida

2008: Jason Vigilante, Texas

National Women’s Track Athlete of the Year

Diamond Dixon, Kansas

Dixon, a sophomore from Houston, Texas, led Kansas to a runner-up team finish – the best in team history – at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships with a national crown in the 400 meters and anchor-leg run of the Jayhawks’ third-place finishing 4x400 relay (3:33.13). Dixon clocked a collegiate-leading 51.78 for victory in the 400 national final.

All told, it was an undefeated season for Dixon in races at the 400-meter distance as she also claimed a Big 12 crown in the event. Dixon also led the Jayhawks to a school record and all-time collegiate top-ten standing in the 4x400 in anchoring the squad to a collegiate-leading 3:31.36 for the Big 12 title.

Recent Winners:

2012: Diamond Dixon, Kansas

2011: Jordan Hasay, Oregon

2010: Francena McCorory, Hampton

2009: Jenny Barringer, Colorado

2008: Sally Kipyego, Texas Tech

2007: Kerron Stewart, Auburn

2006: Johanna Nilsson, Northern Arizona

National Women’s Field Athlete of the Year

Brianne Theisen, Oregon

Theisen, a senior from Humboldt, Saskatchewan, capped off her indoor season with a third-straight NCAA crown in the pentathlon (4,536). Theisen joined Arizona State’s Jacquelyn Johnson (2006-07-08) as a three-time champ in the event.

Earlier in the season at the Texas A&M Challenge in January, Theisen broke her own collegiate record in the event for the third time with a tally of 4,555. In that event’s high jump portion, Theisen cleared 6-2 (1.88m) in the high jump and finished the season tied for second among all collegians with that mark.

At the MPSF Championships, Theisen performed in individual events, scoring 22 points with a victory in the 400 meters, a second-place in the 60 hurdles, and fifth-place showing in the long jump.

Recent Winners:

2012: Brianne Theisen, Oregon

2011: Brianne Theisen, Oregon

2010: Blessing Okagbare, UTEP

2009: Destinee Hooker, Texas

2008: Jacquelyn Johnson, Arizona State

2007: Brittany Riley, Southern Illinois

2006: Chelsea Johnson, UCLA

Bev Kearney Award -- National Women’s Coach of the Year

Robert Johnson, Oregon

Oregon claimed their third-straight NCAA indoor team title, scoring 49 points to best the field by 19. Oregon joins LSU as the only teams to have won three of more consecutive national indoor crowns. Oregon now has the third-most women’s NCAA indoor track & field titles in history (LSU, 11; Texas, 6).

Freshman English Gardner (60 meters) and Brianne Theisen (pentathlon) won national crowns. The Ducks had seven scoring performances at the national meet and entered with 12 entries.

Recent Winners:

2012: Robert Johnson, Oregon

2011: Robert Johnson, Oregon

2010: Vin Lananna, Oregon

2009: J.J. Clark, Tennessee

2008: Greg Kraft, Arizona State

2007: Greg Kraft, Arizona State

National Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year

Wayne Pate, Kansas

Pate’s field event athletes scored 14 of 30 team points, helping Kansas to a second-place national team finish – the best in school history – at the NCAA Championships. Junior Andrea Geubelle won the national crown in the triple jump with a collegiate-leading leap of 44-10Â¼ (13.67m). Geubelle also took eighth in the long jump and teammate Francine Simpson claimed sixth in the event.

Pate’s athletes scored 36 points, including a 1-2 finish in the long jump, at the Big 12 Championships helping KU place third. Pate is in his fifth year at Kansas.

Recent Winners:

2012: Wayne Pate, Kansas

2011: Vince Anderson, Texas A&M

2010: Robert Johnson, Oregon

2009: Vince Anderson, Texas A&M

2008: David Dumble, Arizona State

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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