March 11, 2008

View Division II Women's Indoor Regional Award Winners

Ashland Pair Earns Regional Honors for Division II Men's Indoor Track and Field

NEW ORLEANS - Ashland strongmen Jud Logan and Bryan Vickers are among the 24 recipients of NCAA Division II Regional Athlete and Coach of the Year honors for the 2008 men's indoor track and field season.

The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association announced the regional honorees on the eve of the 2008 NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships. The national meet begins Friday and continues Saturday in Mankato, Minn.

Vickers, the leading Division II performer in the shot put, is the Great Lakes Region Men's Field Athlete of the Year. Logan is the Great Lakes Region Men's Coach of the Year largely on the strength of his work with the Ashland throwers.

The 2008 regional honorees for Division II indoor track and field:

East Region

Men's Track: Jarret Eaton, West Chester (Pa.) University
Eaton enters the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships with the nation's fastest time in the 60-meter hurdles (7.84). He won the 55-meter hurdles at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference meet and placed fifth in the 55-meter dash. Eaton is a freshman from Roslyn, Pa.

Men's Field: Tyler Blatchley, West Virginia Wesleyan University
Blatchley qualified for the NCAA Championships in the shot put and is seeded eighth with a best of 56-10¼. He placed eighth at last year's NCAA indoor meet in the shot put. Blatchley is a senior from Baltimore.

Men's Coach: John Papa, Slippery Rock University
Papa has won 15 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference titles in men's and women's track and cross country during his decorated tenure, but this year marked the first time that he won a PSAC men's indoor championship. Two of his male athletes and three women qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships.

Men's Track: John Riak, Saint Martin's University
Riak won the mile at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships and just missed qualifying for nationals with a 4:13.53 best. Riak is a junior from Tacoma, Wash.

Men's Field: Zeb Udell, Western Oregon University
Udell qualified for the NCAA Championships in the pole vault with a 16-2¾ best. He won the long jump at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Indoor Championships and was also second in the pole vault and third in the 60 meters. Udell, a junior from Monmouth, Ore., placed fifth in the pole vault at last year's NCAA outdoor meet.

Men's Coach: Mike Johnson, Western Oregon University
Johnson's Wolves won the Great Northwest Athletic Conference indoor title with 178 points. Western Oregon will have the only GNAC male representatives at this week's NCAA Indoor Championships. Johnson is in his fifth season as Western Oregon's head track coach.

Southeast Region

Men's Track: Daniel Kanyaruhuru, Queens University of Charlotte
Kanyaruhuru has the nation's top Division II time in the 5,000 meters (13:57.42). He placed 11th in the 3,000 meters at the USA Indoor Track Championships last month and finished fifth in the NCAA cross country meet last fall. He is a junior from Phoenix, Ariz.

Men's Field: Joseph Kindred, St. Augustine's College
Kindred won the high jump and long jump at the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Championships. His 7-5 clearance in the high jump leads the next-highest Division II performer by more than five inches, and he has the second-best mark in the long jump at 24-7¼. Kindred is a junior from Holly Springs, N.C.

Men's Coach: Michelle Latimer, Bowie State University
The Bulldogs finished second at the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Championships in Latimer's second season as head coach. Bowie State is sending six male athletes to the NCAA Indoor Championships, including sophomore sprinter Dion Rodriquez and its 4 x 400 relay team.

South Region

Men's Track: Daniel Kirwa, Harding University
Kirwa set a school record in his first meet for Harding, clocking 14:05.55 in the 5,000 meters at the Razorback Invitational. That time ranks him third nationally among Division II competitors, and he is second in the mile with a 4:07.05 best. Kirwa is a freshman from Eldoret, Kenya.

Men's Field: Ahmad Rolle, Clayton State University
Rolle qualified for the NCAA meet with a school-record 48-8 in the triple jump at the Indiana Relays. Rolle also holds the school record in the long jump (23-3¼) and was his team's fastest 400-meter hurdler last spring at 53.87. Rolle is a junior from Nassau, Bahamas.

Men's Coach: Marvin Oliver, Albany State University
A pair of Oliver's sprinters - Martin Garrion and Rodney Coley - qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships. Oliver has led teams to three Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's titles while at Albany State.

Northeast Region

Men's Track: Keith Gill, Stonehill College
Gill has the fastest time in the mile (4:04.23) entering this weekend's NCAA Indoor Championships in Mankato, Minn. He won 800 meters at the Northeast-10 Conference meet and finished first in the 1,000 meters at the New England Championships. He will be joined at nationals by his younger brother, Kevin, who also qualified in the mile. Keith is a senior from Brockton, Mass.

Men's Field: Robert Keizer, Southern Connecticut State University
Keizer triple jumped 50-4 at the IC4A Championships, making him the fourth-longest Division II performer of the season. A senior from Great Neck, N.Y., Keizer won the triple jump at the 2008 Northeast 10 Conference indoor meet.

Men's Coach: Karen Boen, Stonehill College
Stonehill finished second at the Northeast 10 Championships and tied for fifth in a 60-team field at the New England Championships, the best finish in program history. The Skyhawks qualified five athletes for the NCAA indoor meet, including Keith Gill, the national leader in the mile. Boen is in her ninth season at Stonehill.

South Central Region

Men's Track: Jeremy Jackson, Pittsburg State University
Jackson qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 60-meter hurdles and is seeded second nationally with a best of 7.97. A linebacker on Pittsburg State's football team, Jackson is a sophomore from Burton, Texas.

Men's Field: Wilbert Walker, Lincoln (Mo.) University
Walker enters this weekend's NCAA Indoor Championships with the nation's top Division II marks in the long jump (24-8½) and triple jump (53-3¾). A four-time NCAA champion, Walker set a Division II record in the long jump (26-8¼) at the 2006 outdoor championships. He is a junior from St. Thomas, Jamaica.

Men's Coach: Kirk Pedersen and Kip Janvrin, University of Central Missouri
The Mules won their third Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association indoor title in four years, scoring 120 points. Central Missouri qualified four men for the NCAA indoor meet.

Great Lakes Region

Men's Track: Jared Krout, Hillsdale College
Krout qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 200 (21.86) and 400 meters (48.76). A junior from Forest, Ohio, Krout won the 200, 400 and long jump at the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference indoor meet.

Men's Field: Bryan Vickers, Ashland University
The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champion brings the nation's top mark in the shot put (64-0½) into this weekend's NCAA meet. In the 35-pound weight throw, his 62-5¾ best puts Vickers fourth on the yearly list. Vickers, a senior from Circleville, Ohio, won the NCAA Division II outdoor title in the shot put last spring.

Men's Coach: Jud Logan, Ashland University
Ashland's men and women finished second at the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference meet. Ashland has the nation's top-ranked performers in the shot put (Bryan Vickers) and weight throw (Robert Klenk). Ashland qualified three men for the weight throw at this weekend's NCAA Indoor Championships.

North Central Region

Men's Track: Denise Mokaya, Minnesota State University
Mokaya won the 800 meters and the mile in leading Minnesota State to its third straight North Central Conference indoor title. He is ranked second nationally in the 800 (1:51.41) and the mile (4:07.05). Mokaya, the 14th-place finisher at the 2007 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships, is a sophomore from Ngong, Kenya.

Men's Field: Matt Gersick, Adams State College
Gersick won the weight throw and finished second in the shot put to teammate John Ybarra at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference indoor meet in Kearney, Neb. A junior from Pueblo, Colo., Gersick qualified for the NCAA meet in both events and is seeded second in the weight throw with a best of 62-11½.

Men's Coach: Ryan Baily, Western State College of Colorado
Western State won its first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference men's indoor title since 1996 by outscoring arch-rival Adams State, 195 to 155 ½ points. The Mountaineers qualified four individuals and their distance medley for the NCAA Indoor Championships. Baily is in his third season as Western State's head track and field coach.