Custom Search NEW ORLEANS – The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced Thursday the National Coach of the Year award winners for the 2013 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field season as chosen in a vote by the nation’s coaches. George Williams of Saint Augustine’s and Lennox Graham of Johnson C. Smith were named National Coaches of the Year, while Saint Augustine’s Sandy Chapman and Grand Valley State’s Blaine Maag were named National Assistant Coaches of the Year.
National Men’s Coach of the Year - George Williams, Saint Augustine’s
Williams, in his 38th season at Saint Augustine’s, led the Falcons to an NCAA DII team title to sweep both the indoor and outdoor championships. With a winning score of 105 points to runner-up Ashland’s 57, Williams’ Falcons posted the highest winning total since Abilene Christian’s 108½ in 2009. His student-athletes claimed two individual titles and two relay titles, including an all-time DII record 38.91 in the 4×100; two more student-athletes finished runners-up and four others finished third in their events. The title is the first for Saint Augustine’s since 2010.
Saint Augustine’s entered the championships with a nation-best 23 entries into the meet, including 16 in the sprints and hurdles. The Falcons also claimed the CIAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships by a wide margin, scoring 213 points to Virginia State’s 123 behind nine event titles.
National Women’s Coach of the Year - Lennox Graham, Johnson C. Smith
Graham, in his sixth season with the Johnson C. Smith program, led his team to its highest outdoor national finish in program history in a narrow runner-up finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with 54 team points between just eight entries behind Academy of Art’s winning total of 60. His Golden Bulls made a marked improvement in National Championships performance from a season ago, when they finished in a tie for 13th with just 16 points. The Golden Bulls won four events — three individual events and the DII-record-setting 4×100 relay at 44.05 — and finished second and third, respectively, in two others. Danielle Williams set an all-time DII record at 200 meters in 22.64 and the No. 4 time in DII history at 100 meters in 11.24, while Samantha Elliot ran the second-fastest 400 hurdles race in DII history at 56.38.
Graham also guided the Golden Bulls to a CIAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships title behind six event titles.
National Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year - Sandy Chapman, Saint Augustine’s
Chapman, in his 10th year with Saint Augustine’s, helped coach the Falcons to one of the more dominant championships performances in recent Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships history. Entering the meet with a nation-best 23 event entries into the championships, including 16 entries in the sprints and hurdles, his Falcons scored 105 points and won four event titles and set an all-time DII record in the 4×100 relay at 38.91.