May 23, 2006

The U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) has named its regional athlete and coaching award recipients for the 2006 outdoor season. NCAA coaches nominate and select award winners in their respective division. Awards will be presented to both athletes and coaches on Wednesday evening at Benedictine University, site of the Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

The NCAA Division III national winners will be selected on Wednesday of this week and will be posted at www.ustfccca.org. The following coaches and athletes won Division III regional awards:

MEN'S COACHES

Atlantic Region
Shawn Wilbourn, SUNY Cortland. The Red Dragons won the New York State College Track Conference and finished third at the ECAC championships under Wilbourn's guidance. Cortland qualified four men for the NCAA Division III Championships in Lisle, Ill.

Central Region
Ted Bulling, Nebraska Wesleyan. Bulling, a six-time national coach of the year, led the Prairie Wolves to a one-point win at the Great Plans Athletic Conference meet. Twelve of Bulling's men qualified for the national outdoor championships.

Great Lakes Region
John Homon, Mount Union College. Homon collected his 17th Ohio Athletic Conference men's outdoor title this spring. The Purple Raiders qualified eight men for the Division III nationals.

Mideast Region
Vince Touey, Widener University. Touey was named the Middle Atlantic Conference's coach of the year after winning his 13th league title. Three Pioneers qualified for nationals, including distance standout Macharia Yuot.

Midwest Region
Mark Guthrie, Wisconsin La Crosse. Guthrie guided te Eagles won their 16th straight Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's title. UW La Crosse has 20 men competing in this week's NCAA Division III Championships at Benedictine University outside of Chicago.

New England Region
Ralph White, Williams College. White's men won the East Coast Small College Athletic Conference outdoor championship and qualified 12 athletes for the NCAA meet.

South Region
Barbara Crousen, McMurry University. Crousen was named the men's and women's coach of the year in the American Southwest Conference. Her women's team won the ASC team title by more than 100 points and will have seven athletes competing in the national championships.

West Region
John Goldhammer, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges. Goldhammer collected his 15th straight Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's title this spring. Three of his athletes will compete in the Division III nationals.

WOMEN'S COACHES

Jennifer Potter, Ithaca College. The Bombers won their ninth straight New York State College Track Conference women's championship and placed fourth at the ECAC meet, their highest finish since 1996. Ithaca heptathlete Lauren Koppel qualified for nationals.

Central Region
Marcus Newsom, Wartburg College. Newsom's defending NCAA Division III outdoor champions qualified 10 women for this year's nationals. The Knights won their seventh straight Iowa Athletic Conference women's title this spring.

Great Lakes Region
Bill Taraschke, Baldwin-Wallace College. Taraschke's Yellow Jackets won the Ohio Athletic Conference championship with 197½ points and will be sending three women to the NCAA Division III championships.

Mideast Region
Bill Ross, Allegheny College. The Gators won the North Coast Athletic Conference women's title by a 73-point margin. Ross will accompany three of his female athletes - all sophomores - to the national championships.

Midwest Region
Scott Bradley, Wheaton College (Ill.). The Thunder won the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin women's championship by more than 50 points. Four of Bradley's athletes earned berths at the national championships, including two heptathletes.

New England Region
Ralph White, Williams College. Ross guided Williams to yet another New England Small College Athletic Conference women's title. The Ephs will have 12 athletes competing at the NCAA Championships, including one of the finest distance runners in the Division III ranks, Caroline Cretti.

South Region
Jennifer Breuer, Trinity University (Texas). Breuer won her third Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference title in four years. Two of her athletes are headed for nationals, including Christyn Schuman, a two-time NCAA outdoor champion in the high jump.

West Region
Garry Killgore, Linfield College. Killgore's women finished second at the Northwest Conference meet. Linfield is sending two women to the national championships.

MEN'S TRACK

Atlantic Region
Nick Stenuf, Nazareth College. Stenuf ran a personal-best 1:50.83 to win the ECAC championship. He'll try to improve on his sixth-place finish at the 2006 NCAA Division III Indoor Championships, when he became the first track All-American in school history.

Central Region
P.J. Theisen, University of St. Thomas (Minn.). Theisen is the top-ranked Division III performer in the 400 hurdles at 52.31. He also qualified for nationals in the high hurdles and the 4 x 400 relay. At the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference meet, Theisen won the triple jump and 400 hurdles and also placed second in the highs.

Great Lakes Region
John Biacofsky, Mount Union College. Biacofsky's best time in the 100 meters of 10.27 leads the field at this week's NCAA Division III Championships by nearly two-tenths of a second. He is ranked second in the 200 with a best of 20.82. Biacofsky will also run the 4 x 100 relay at nationals.

Mideast Region
Macharia Yuot, Widener University. Yuot was a runaway choice as athlete of the meet at the Middle Atlantic Conference championships after winning four events (1,500, steeplechase, 5,000 and 10,000). Heading into nationals, Yuot has the second-fastest qualifying times in the steeple (9:06.3), 5,000 (14:13.17) and 10,000 (29:55.28).

Midwest Region
Nick Boehlke, Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Boehlke won the 5,000 and 10,000 meters at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference meet and has the nation's top Division III times in the 10,000 (29:52.68).

New England Region
Kevin Bright, Middlebury College. Bright was named the outstanding male performer in the New England Small College Athletic Conference after winning the 400-meter dash and 400 hurdles. He is undefeated in the 400 hurdles with a best of 52.87, making him the fourth-fastest entrant in this week's nationals.

South Region
Hanneus Ollison, McMurry University. Ollison will be a busy sprinter at the NCAA Division III meet. He qualified in the 100 (10.48 best), 200 (21.36) and both relays.

West Region
Nick Symmonds, Willamette University. Symonds set a national Division III record when he recently clocked 1:47.34 in the 800 meters. He will also contest the 1,500 at nationals. He has a best of 3:45.75, the second-fastest time nationally.

WOMEN'S TRACK

Atlantic Region
Musu Jackson-Buckner, SUNY Oneonta. Jackson-Buckner is the nation's top Division II I performer in the 100 (11.83) and 200 (24.16). She won the 100 at the ECAC meet and placed second in the 200. She will also run the anchor leg on Oneonta's sprint relay team at nationals.

Central Region
Angie Pfeiffer, Concordia College, Moorhead. Pfeiffer won the 400-meter dash and placed second in the 200 at the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference meet. Her best of 55.87 in the 400 ranks her fourth nationally heading into the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships at Benedictine University.

Great Lakes Region
Ellie Fernandez, John Carroll University. Fernandez won three events (1,500, 5,000 and steeplechase) at the Ohio Athletic Conference championships. She qualified for nationals in the steeplechase (10:44.84) and 5,000 (17:14.80).

Mideast Region
Emily Lepley, Susquehanna University. Lepley won both hurdle events and placed third in the 400-meter dash at the Ohio Athletic Conference meet. She enters the Division III nationals with the fifth-fastest time in the 100 hurdles (14.39) and the eighth-fastest clocking in the 400 hurdles (62.56).

Midwest Region
(tie) Amber Druien, North Central College, and Amanda Cuca, Concordia College. Druien has the nation's top Division III times in the 800 (2:08.56) and 1,500 (4:24.56) entering the NCAA outdoor meet. She also ran a leg on the 4 x 400 relay team that qualified for nationals. Cuca's best time in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (10:07.67) not only leads the Division III list but would rank her first among D2 and fourth among D1 competitors in the event. Cuca will also compete in the 5,000 (16:50.33 best) at nationals.

New England Region
Caroline Cretti, Williams College. Called the finest distance runner in Williams history by her coach, Ralph White, Cretti has the nation's top times in the 5,000 (16:35.30) and 10,000 (34:52.94). She won New England Small College Athletic Conference titles in both events.

South Region
Julie Coats, Hendrix College. Coats won a distance triple at the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference meet, finishing first in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, 5,000 and 10,000. Coats qualified for nationals in the steeple (10:41.27 best) and 5,000 (17:20.65).

West Region
Jackie Muhich, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges. Muhich has the fastest time in the country in the 400 hurdles (61.62). She won Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles in the 400 hurdles and the 400-meter dash.

MEN'S FIELD

Atlantic Region
Paul Klimec, Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. Klimec won New Jersey Athletic Conference titles and qualified for nationals in the long jump (24-11¼) and high jump (6-11¾). He has the nation's top Division III mark in the long jump.

Central Region
Andy Stoecken, Loras College. Stoecken enters the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships with the top mark in the high jump (7-0½). He won an Iowa Conference title in that event.

Great Lakes Region
Nate Meckes, Calvin College. Meckes won Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association titles in the shot put and discus. His shot best of 58-8¾ ranks him first on the national list. He's the nation's fourth-best performer in the discus at 184-6.

Mideast Region
Adam Hadbavny, Westminster College (Pa.). Hadbavny won President's Athletic Conference titles in the shot put and discus and placed sixth in the shot at the Eastern College Athletic Conference meet. He qualified for the national championships in the discus (168-3).

Midwest Region
Brandon Houle, Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Houle is one of the most versatile throwers in the Division III ranks, qualifying for nationals in the shot put, discus and hammer. Houle ranks third on the national list in the hammer (191-11) and is fourth in the shot put (55-10¼).

New England Region
Uzoma Orji, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Orji followed up on a strong indoor season with victories in the shot put and hammer at the New England Division III outdoor championships. The MIT senior is the nation's second-ranked performer in the shot (58-7½) and hammer (205-9).

South Region
Robert Rodriquez, Christopher Newport University. Rodriquez won the triple jump and was second in the high jump and long jump at the Mason-Dixon Conference meet. His triple jump best of 48-6¾ ranks him third on the national list.

West Region
Matt Roberson, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges. Roberson has the highest Division III score in the decathlon at 6,903 points. He also long jumped 23-4½ and vaulted 14-5¼.

WOMEN'S FIELD

Atlantic Region
Christina Acquaviva, SUNY Cortland. Acquaviva scored a personal-best 4,516 points to win the East Coast Athletic Conference title in the heptathlon, a score that ranks her seventh nationally among Division III competitors. At the New York State College Track Conference meet, she finished first in the long jump, second in the 200 and fourth in the 100 hurdles.

Central Region
Kristal Grigsby, University of St. Thomas (Minn.). Grigsby won the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title in the long jump and takes a nation-leading best of 19-9½ into the NCAA championships. She also qualified for nationals in the high jump (5-6).

Great Lakes Region
Christine Hendricks, Calvin College. Hendricks has the nation's best score in the heptathlon at 4,894 points. A two-time All-American in outdoor track, Hendricks won the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title in the javelin and also plays volleyball for Calvin.

Mideast Region
Amy Reed, Messiah College. Reed was the most valuable performer at the Middle Atlantic Conference meet, scoring 41 points with victories in the javelin, long jump and heptathlon. She has the fourth-highest Division III score in the heptathlon (4,560) and also qualified for nationals in the javelin (142-5).

Midwest Region
Robyn Jarocki, Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Jarocki was the outstanding field performer for the second time in three years at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference meet, winning the shot, discus and hammer. She is ranked first nationally among Division III competitors in the shot (53-6¼) and discus (169-7) and has the second-longest mark in the hammer (189-4).

New England Region
Keelin Godsey, Bates College. Godsey set an NCAA Division III record in the hammer this spring with a throw of 205-4. She's the defending national champion. Godsey is also ranked among the top three in the shot put (47-5) and discus (151-8).

South Region
Christyn Schumann, Trinity University (Texas). Schumann will be shooting for her third straight NCAA outdoor title in the high jump. The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference champion leads the national list at 5-8¾.

West Region
Kate Ross, Lewis & Clark College. Ross won Northeast Conference titles in the long jump and triple jump. She is ranked third nationally in the long jump (19-2¾) and ninth in the triple jump (38-9¾).