March 10, 2008

View Division I Women's Indoor Regional Award Winners

Division I Regional Men's Honorees Cover a lot of Ground

NEW ORLEANS - Big schools and small schools, from east and west to all points in between, this year's regional awards cover the gamut of Division I indoor track and field.

Tennessee and Oregon are represented, as are Binghamton and Sacred Heart. Bob Braman, the head coach of Florida State's powerhouse program, is honored, as is Navy coach Steve Cookey and Liberty distance ace Josh McDougal.

What they have in common is that they're all the top athletes and coaches in their respective regions, as selected by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

In each of the country's nine regions, the USTFCCCA selects the top men's and women's track athlete, field athlete, head coach and assistant coach for the 2008 NCAA Division I indoor season. This year's list features the variety that makes collegiate track & field such a representative sport:

Mid-Atlantic Region

Men's Track: Bobby Curtis, Villanova
Curtis was named the outstanding track performer at the Big East Conference Championships after winning the 3,000 meters and running on a pair of victorious Villanova relay teams. Curtis, a senior from Louisville, earlier qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships by clocking 7:50.17 in winning the 3,000 in meet-record time at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational in New York.

Men's Field: Justin Frick, Princeton
Frick cleared 7-2¼ to win the high jump at the Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup in early February and added victories at the Princeton Invitational and Ivy League Heptagonals. A sophomore from Freehold, N.J., Frick won IC4A and Heptagonal titles last spring and qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Men's Coach: Steve Cooksey, Navy
Cooksey was named the conference coach of the year after the Midshipmen won the Patriot League championship with 188½ points, 50½ points in front of the runner-up. Navy also registered its seventh straight win over Army in the N-Star meet, the longest streak in program history. Cooksey is in his 20th season as Navy's head coach.

Men's Assistant: Fritz Spence, Penn State
Coach Fritz Spence has guided the Nittany Lion men's horizontal jumpers to an outstanding 2008, including a Big Ten triple jump win from Clarence Smith and a bronze-medal finish from Ryan Taylor in the long jump. Spence's troops raked in 15 total points in the conference triple jump with Jay Pagana and Taylor taking sixth and seventh, respectively, along with Smith's victory.

West Region

Men's Track: Garrett Heath, Stanford
Heath enters the NCAA Indoor Championships with the nation's third-fastest time in the mile (3:58.17). A senior from Winona, Minn., Heath also won the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title in the mile and anchors the Stanford distance medley that has the nation's second-fastest time behind Texas.

Men's Field: Norris Frederick, Washington
Frederick won his third straight Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title in the long jump with a school-record leap of 26-7¾. He is the top-seeded performer heading into this week's NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville. Frederick, a senior from Seattle, also qualified for the national championships in the high jump (7-3). Frederick finished third in the long jump at last year's NCAA indoor meet.

Men's Coach: Vin Lananna, Oregon
Lananna's Ducks won the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation indoor title with a well-rounded showing. Oregon is ranked 12th nationally and has 13 national qualifiers. Sophomore A.J. Acosta broke Steve Prefontaine's school indoor record in the mile, clocking 3:58.52 this past weekend in Seattle. Lananna coached Oregon's men to the NCAA cross country championship in November.

Men's Assistant: Petros Kyprianou, Boise State
Kyprianou's field eventers played a prominent role in Boise State's second-place finish at the Western Athletic Conference meet. Ryan Grinnell won the triple jump and high jump and added a second-place finish in the long jump. Grinnell is one of three Boise State field event athletes to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships. Kyprianou is in his third season in Boise.

South Region

Men's Track: Rubin Williams, Tennessee
Williams successfully defended his 200-meter title at the Southeastern Conference Championships, clocking 20.68. He earlier clocked 20.55, the fastest collegiate time in the country, and he also qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 60 meters. Williams, a senior from San Jose, Ca., finished second at last spring's NCAA outdoor meet in the 200.

Men's Field: Jake Dunkleberger, Auburn
Dunkleberger claimed his first Southeastern Conference title this winter, winning the weight throw (71-4¼) at the SEC indoor meet. His best of 71-9 ranks him fourth nationally among collegians. A senior from Smyrna, Ga., Dunkleberger won the NCAA outdoor title in the hammer last spring with a personal-best throw of 235-9.

Men's Coach: Bob Braman, Florida State
Braman's powerhouse men's program claimed its sixth straight Atlantic Coast Conference indoor title and is one of the favorites at the upcoming NCAA Indoor Championships. The Seminoles have won back-to-back NCAA outdoor titles under Braman's direction and finished second at last year's indoor meet. Braman is in his fifth season as Florida State's head coach.

Men's Assistant: Nat Page, Georgia Tech
Page's expertise in the jumps and hurdles continued to pay dividends as Georgia Tech placed second to Florida State at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships. Two of his hurdlers scored in the ACC meet, as did two of Page's triple jumpers, including NCAA qualifier James Lemons. Page is in his 12th season at Georgia Tech.

Northeast Region

Men's Track: Arman Dixon, Sacred Heart
Dixon won three events - the long jump, 60 meters and 400 meters - in leading the Pioneers to their first-ever Northeast Conference men's championship. Dixon, a senior from Beacon, N.Y., was named the NEC's outstanding indoor performer for the third time. He also finished second in the 200 and third in the triple jump.

Men's Field: Rory Quiller, Binghamton
Quiller finished second at the USA Indoor Championships in the pole vault with a personal-best jump of 18-4½. Quiller, a graduate student from West Point, N.Y., also won his fourth straight America East title. He placed second at last year's NCAA Indoor Championships.

Men's Coach: Nathan Taylor, Cornell
With nine individual victories and three NCAA qualifying performances, Cornell steamrolled to its fourth Ivy League Heptagonal title in the last six seasons. Muhammad Halim qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the triple jump after finishing second at last year's event. Taylor is in his ninth year as Cornell's men's coach.

Men's Assistant: Kenneth Franklin, Sacred Heart
Franklin's work with the sprinters, hurdlers and jumpers was rewarded when Sacred Heart won the first Northeast Conference men's indoor title in program history. Arman Dixon won three events and was named the meet's outstanding male performer on both the track and field. Franklin is in his fifth year at Sacred Heart.

Midwest Region

Men's Track: Shaun Smith, Oral Roberts
Smith has the second-fastest collegiate time in the 800 meters at 1:47.28. He won his specialty at the Summit League meet and will be looking to improve on his seventh-place finish at the 2007 NCAA Indoor Championships. Smith is a senior from Clarendon, Jamaica.

Men's Field: Raven Cepeda, Northern Iowa
Cepeda has the top collegiate mark in the heptathlon with 5,906 points. He claimed his fourth straight Missouri Valley Conference title in the heptathlon and added MVC wins in the pole vault and 60-meter hurdles in leading the Panthers to their ninth straight conference title. Cepeda, a senior from Beloit, Wisc., placed third in the heptathlon at last year's NCAA Indoor Championships.

Men's Coach: Chris Bucknam, Northern Iowa
Bucknam guided the Panthers to their ninth straight Missouri Valley Conference men's indoor championship. Bucknam's women also won their first MVC indoor title since 2002. Two of his male athletes - Raven Cepeda in the heptathlon and Tyler Mulder in the 800 - posted automatic NCAA qualifying marks this winter. Bucknam is in his 25th season as Northern Iowa's head coach.

Men's Assistant: Brett Halter, Missouri
Halter's throwers had another banner season. Chris Rohr led a 2-3-4-5 finish by Missouri athletes in the 35-pound weight throw at the Big 12 Conference meet, and Nate Englin won the shot put. Rohr has the second-best collegiate throw of the year in the weight at 73-6¾. Halter is now in his 14th season at Missouri.

South Central Region

Track: Leo Manzano, Texas
Manzano became the first male athlete in Big 12 Conference history to win four straight indoor championships in the mile. He also anchored Texas to victory in the distance medley as the Longhorns edged Nebraska by two points to win the Big 12 men's title. A senior from Marble Falls, Texas, Manzano is the defending NCAA indoor champion and the anchor leg on the World record holding Texas men's DMR squad.

Men's Field: Nkosinza Balumbu, Arkansas
Balumbu continued the Razorbacks' long tradition in the triple jump, Balumbu won the Southeastern Conference title with a season-best leap of 53-2¾. A junior from Union City, Ca., Balumbu placed third at last year's NCAA Indoor Championships and was sixth in the outdoor championships.

Men's Coach: Aaron Fox, Texas-San Antonio
Fox guided UTSA to the Southland Conference men's indoor championship as the Roadrunners scored 122 points to finish more than 20 points in front of second-place Stephen F. Austin. Fox has been named the men's indoor coach of the year in each of the last three seasons.

Men's Assistant: Jason Vigilante, Texas
Vigilante runs one of the finest middle-distance programs in the country at Texas. The Longhorns have the nation's fastest collegiate time in the distance medley and has a pair of NCAA individual contenders in Leo Manzano (mile) and Jacob Hernandez (800 meters). Vigilante joined the Texas staff in 1999 and was named the head cross country coach in 2004.

Southeast Region

Men's Track: Josh McDougal, Liberty
McDougal's 13:40.26 for 5,000 meters on Dec. 1 remains the fastest in the country heading into the NCAA Indoor Championships. He also qualified for the national meet with a 7:53.35 for 3,000 meters in late February. McDougal, a senior from Peru, N.Y., won the NCAA cross country title last November.

Field: Mitch Greeley, Clemson
Greeley cleared a school-record 18-1 at the Tyson Invitational and won his second straight Atlantic Coast Conference indoor title in the pole vault. Greeley, a senior from Rock Hill, S.C., tied for fourth in the vault at last spring's NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Coach: Robert Olesen, Charlotte
Charlotte defeated defending champion Rhode Island to win the Atlantic 10 Conference men's indoor title. Olesen was named the men's and women's Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year as the 49ers also claimed the conference women's championship.

Assistant: Charles Foster, Clemson
A former NCAA champion and 1976 Olympian in the high hurdles, Foster is in his ninth season at Clemson, where he directs the sprints, hurdles and relays. Clemson sprinters C.J. Spiller and Travis Padgett are ranked among the top five nationally in the 60 meters. Padgett is the defending NCAA indoor champion in that event.

Mountain Region

Men's Track: Kyle Perry, BYU
Perry qualified for the NCAA indoor meet in the mile (3:59.16) and 3,000 meters (7:51.20). His 3,000 clocking is a Mountain West Conference men's indoor record. Perry, a junior from Sandy, Utah, won the MWC title in the mile as the Cougars claimed the conference team title.

Men's Field: Jake Shanklin, Wyoming
Shanklin won the 35-pound weight throw at the Mountain West Conference meet with a toss of 71-1¼. Earlier in the season, he reached 71-10¼, and he ranks third on the yearly list heading into the NCAA Indoor Championships. He placed 12th at last year's NCAA indoor meet. Shanklin is a senior from Ellensburg, Wash.

Men's Coach: Mark Robison, BYU
The Cougars won the Mountain West Conference men's title with 169 points, a performance that included four of the top six places in the pole vault. Robison is in his fourth season as the men's track coach at BYU, where his father, Clarence, coached the Cougars for 40 years.

Men's Assistant: Dion Miller, Texas Tech
In his first season back at Texas Tech following coaching stops at Arizona State and Washington, Miller helped sprinter Julius Walker qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 60 meters. Miller was an All-American sprinter at Texas Tech in the 1990s.

Great Lakes Region

Men's Track: Brandon Bethke, Wisconsin
Bethke won the 3,000 and 5,000 meters at the Big Ten Conference meet, helping the Badgers win their eighth straight men's title. Bethke, a sophomore from Lake Forest, Ca., has bests this season of 3:59.85 (mile), and 7:51.24 (3,000).

Men's Field: Jonathan Pullum, Purdue
Pullum was named Big Ten Field Athlete of the Year after throwing a career-best 70-9 to win the conference title. His best in the weight prior to this season was 63-2. A sophomore from Converse, Ind., Pullum qualified for the NCAA Mideast Regional last spring in the discus.

Men's Coach: Ed Nuttycombe, Wisconsin
Nuttycombe led Wisconsin to a record eighth straight Big Ten men's indoor title and 24th overall Big Ten title. The Badgers scored 127 points to finish in front of Purdue's 102 points. Nuttycombe has swept the Big Ten indoor and outdoor coach of the year honors the last four years. He is in his 25th season as Wisconsin's head track and field coach.

Men's Assistant: Jerry Schumacher, Wisconsin
Schumacher once again had an outstanding corps of distance runners. Jack Bolas and Brandon Bethke both broke four minutes for the mile this indoor season, and Wisconsin's distance medley is ranked among the nation's top five. In Schumacher's ten seasons as the Badgers' cross country coach, Wisconsin has never placed lower than sixth.