NEW ORLEANS – After winning the Women’s Sun Belt Championship last week, Texas State claimed five of the 10 Outdoor Track & Field awards handed out by the Sun Belt Conference on Friday. The awards were voted on by the league’s head coaches.
Texas State's Jody Stewart was named the Women's Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year after guiding the Bobcats to their first Sun Belt Outdoor Track and Field Championship. The Bobcats scored 154.5 points, besting Arkansas State by 36.5 points. The 154.5 points scored by the Bobcats were the most by the program since joining the Sun Belt.
The Bobcats swept the women's outdoor track and field individual awards, winning the Most Outstanding Track Performer, Most Outstanding Field Performer, Most Outstanding Freshman and Most Outstanding Newcomer. Tramesha Hardy was named the Women's Track Student-Athlete of the Year after posting the 100/200-meter double. Hardy took home first place honors in each event at the championship. She currently ranks 44th overall in the NCAA in the 100-meters with a best time of 11.38, which she ran at the Sun Belt championship. She ranks 46th in the 200-meters with a best of 23.06. Both top times for Hardy came at the Sun Belt championship.
Hardy was last year's Freshman of the Year.
Julie Lange was named the Women's Field Student-Athlete of the Year after posting 22 points from the throws at the Sun Belt Championship. Lange had three podium finishes, as she finished second in both the discus and hammer throws while placing third in the shot put. Her 22 points were third overall at the meet for most points scored. She ranks 26th in the NCAA in the women's shot with a best toss of 54'8" which came at the Texas Relays. She is 30th in the discus and 55th in the hammer.
Devina Schneider earned two honors from the league, as she was named Freshman of the Year and Newcomer of the Year. Schneider was the highest point scorer at the Sun Belt championship tallying 24 points over three events. She won the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase and finished second in the 1,500-meters. She was third in the 5,000-meters. What's more impressive is that she competed in all three events over two days totalying over 11,000-meters of running action.
On the men's side, Arkansas State's Jaylen Bacon was named Men's Track Student-Athlete of the Year, an honor which was bestowed upon him last season as well. The sophomore won back-to-back championships in the 100- and 200-meter races giving him a total of four outdoor track and field titles to his credit. He ran 10-flat in 100-meters at the championship this year which ranks him in the Top 10 in the NCAA in the event and ran 20.35 in the 200-meters which puts him at No. 15 in the country. Bacon's 200-meter time was a new Sun Belt record as well as a Championship meet record.
Bacon was the meet’s high point scorer for the second consecutive season.
Troy's Zach Douglas was named the Men's Field Student-Athlete of the Year. Douglas won the men's discus throw and finished second in the shot put at the championship. He is ranked 58th in the NCAA in the shot put and 73rd in the discus. He will be competing May 25-27 in Lexington at the NCAA East Preliminary.
Appalachian State's Elliott Graves was named the Men's Freshman of the Year after posting a winning time in the 400-meter hurdles at the Sun Belt championship. His time of 51.29 in the event was the fourth-fastest time in Mountaineer history and a new personal best for Graves. It is also the second-fastest time among freshman in the event.
UTA's Justin Domangue was tabbed as the league's Newcomer of the Year. Domangue, a freshman, earned third-place finishes at the championship in both the 5,000-meters and 10,000-meters.
Domangue's head coach, John Sauerhage, was tabbed as the Men's Head Coach of the Year after the Mavericks claimed the "triple" crown for the second time in school history and second time since joining the Sun Belt. UTA scored 151 points to win the team title at the meet by 35 points over second-place Texas State (116).
Men’s Most Outstanding Track Performer – Jaylen Bacon, Arkansas State
Men’s Most Outstanding Field Performer – Zach Douglas, Troy
Men’s Most Outstanding Freshman – Elliott Graves, APP
Men’s Most Outstanding Newcomer – Justin Domangue, UTA
Men's Outdoor Track & Field Head Coach of the Year – John Sauerhage, UTA
Women’s Most Outstanding Track Performer – Tramesha Hardy, Texas State
Women’s Most Outstanding Field Performer – Julie Lange, Texas State
Women’s Most Outstanding Freshman – Devina Schneider, Texas State
Women’s Most Outstanding Newcomer – Devina Schneider, Texas State
Women's Outdoor Track & Field Head Coach of the Year – Jody Stewart, Texas State