Rowe, Jackson Named Indoor Track & Field Athletes of the Year
FRISCO, Texas – Lamar’s Jordan Rowe and Northwestern State’s Natashia Jackson are the 2020 Southland Conference Indoor Track & Field Men’s and Women’s Athletes of the Year, respectively, the league announced Friday. In addition to the indoor superlative award winners, the first-, second- and third-team all-conference student-athletes were announced. Southland Conference Athletes of the Year are presented by Ready Nutrition.Rowe and Jackson were awarded Athlete of the Year honors after leading the men’s and women’s indoor championships as the event’s Most Valuable Performers (MVP). Rowe racked up 22 points and a pair of first-place finishes in the mile and (4:12.52) and 3,000-meter (8:26.46) events. Jackson compiled an astounding 27.5 points, while breaking meet records in the 200m and 400m races.Southeastern Louisiana’s Corey Mistretta led the Lions to the men’s team championship and was awarded the Southland Men’s Coach of the Year. Stephen F. Austin’s Phil Olson was once again named the Women’s Coach of the Year after guiding the Ladyjacks to their second-straight team title.Southland Conference indoor track & field superlatives are nominated and voted upon by the league’s head coaches. Voting for oneself or one’s own athletes is not permitted. All-Conference distinction is given to the first-, second- and third-place finishers in each championship event final.For athletes that achieved qualifying marks this season, the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships will be a two-day event hosted at the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, N.M., March 12-14.The 2020 Southland Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships will be hosted by Abilene Christian May 15-17 in Abilene, Texas.Men’s Outstanding Running Events Performer – Jordan Rowe, Sr., Lamar Rowe stamped an impressive performance at the Southland indoor championships, leading the pack in both the mile and 3,000m races. The senior nabbed first team all-conference honors and has now won the mile and 3,000m events at the Southland Indoor Championships for two consecutive years.Men’s Outstanding Field Events Performer – Branson Ellis, So., Stephen F. AustinStephen F. Austin’s Branson Ellis captured a meet record in the pole vault event at the indoor championships this week, clearing the bar with an 18-05.25 (5.62m) mark on just his second jump. Ellis captured first-team honors with the jump and currently holds the Southland Indoor pole vault record with a 19-00.25 (5.80m).Men’s Freshman of the Year – Tyler Richardson, Fr., Abilene ChristianAbilene Christian’s Tyler Richardson took first place overall with a 56-01.75 (17.11m) toss in the shot put. The freshman took home the gold in the shot put with a personal-best mark in addition to a fifth-place finish in the weight throw (56-11.25/17.35m).Men’s Newcomer of the Year – Johnathon Sawyer, Jr., Southeastern LouisianaSawyer was electric for the newly crowned Lions, taking first place in the 200m (20.99) and 400m (46.23) events. His 400m time set a new Southland indoor meet record, giving the Lions two of their four gold medals for the event.Men’s Athlete of the Year – Jordan Rowe, Sr., LamarRowe also nabbed Athlete of the Year honors with his spectacular performance for the Cardinals. The senior has now won titles in each of his appearances at the Southland Indoor Track & Field Championships.Men’s Coach of the Year – Corey Mistretta, Southeastern LouisianaMistretta led the Lions to their first team championship since the 2014 indoor season. His team put up 99 points to lead the standings by a 12-point margin.Women’s Outstanding Running Events Performer – Natashia Jackson, Sr., Northwestern StateJackson rewrote the record books at the indoor championships, taking first place in the 200m (23.50), 400m (53.25) and 4x400m Relay events for the Lady Demons. The senior’s 400m title performance also set a Southland Conference indoor track record.Women’s Outstanding Field Events Performer – Jasmyn Steels, Sr., Northwestern StateSteels, the reigning NCAA indoor long jump national champion, claimed the Southland long jump title this past weekend with a 20-05.75 (6.24m) mark. The senior needed just three attempts to claim the gold and also added a silver medal in the triple jump event (41-05.25/12.63m).Women’s Freshman of the Year – Sierra Temple , Fr., Central ArkansasCentral Arkansas’ Sierra Temple burst onto the scene for the Bears, taking second place in the 200m event with a 24.00 mark. The freshman also registered a personal best 7.52 in the preliminary round of the 60m dash.Women’s Newcomer of the Year – Arina Kleshchukova, Jr., New OrleansArina Kleshchukova took home first place in the women’s 5,000m race with a time of 16:56.92, a personal record for the newcomer. She also took part in the 3,000m and distance medley relay events for the Privateers.Women’s Athlete of the Year – Natashia Jackson, Sr., Northwestern StateJackson was crowned the Athlete of the Year after an impressive overall showing for the Lady Demons at the indoor meet. The senior erupted with stellar anchor-leg performance in the 4x400m relay that pushed the NSU team to a first-place finish.Women’s Coach of the Year – Phil Olson, Stephen F. AustinOlson once again claimed the Women’s Coach of the Year honors after pushing the Ladyjacks to a team title. He has now won the award in each of the past two seasons.2020 Southland Conference Men’s Indoor Track & Field All-Conference Teams Pole Vault Kaylee Bizzell, SFA AnnMarie Broussard, NSU Mackenzie West, ACU Pole Vault Branson Ellis, SFA Hudson Hall, HBU Carter Scott, SFA Triple Jump Tylen Guidry, LU Chris Welch, HBU Quindarrius Thompson, NSU Shot Put Tyler Richardson, ACU Marco Arevalo, NSU Cobe Graham, SHSU 400m Natashia Jackson, NSU Imani Nave, SFA Hailey Alcorn, NICH Mile Jordan Rowe, LU Andrew Bosquez, SHSU Shea Foster, SLU 2020 Southland Conference Women’s Indoor Track & Field All-Conference Teams Pentathlon Kaitlin Smith, HBU Mathilde Coquillaud-Salom, SFA Parl Eelma, LU 5,000m Arina Kleshchukova, UNO Valentina Campos, AMCC Claire Crone, SFA Mile Kelsey Ramirez, SFA Alia Henderson, UIW Tamara Reeves, UCA 800m LaSean Davis, SFA Brianna Nolen, SFA Ivette Alcantar, UIW High Jump Slavko Stevic, SLU Jeremiah Gilliam, UIW Asani Hylton, SFA Event First Second Third Triple Jump Lauren Clarke, NSU Jasmyn Steels, NSU Malaiya Jedkins, MCN Event First Second Third Weight Throw Alanna Arvie, MCN Jemira Thomlinson, HBU Kristin McDuffie, NSU 800m Matthew Hernandez, UIW Christos Zachariou, HBU Alex Hanson, UCA 60m Hurdles Mathilde Coquillaud-Salo, SFA Janiel Moore, NSU Omo Oboh, NICH 400m Johnathon Sawyer, SLU James Benson II, SLU A.J. Bennett, SFA
60m Zachary Jewell, UCA Joshua Raphael, MCN Jo’Vaughn Martin, SHSU 60m Sierra Temple, UCA Taylor Tolen, ACU Lynelle Washington, NSU 4x400m ACU: A. Williams, R. Linton, B. Brownlow, J. Williams SFA: A. Callahan, D. Sankey, J. Garcia, A. Bennett SHSU: E. Woods, C. Brown, J. Austin, J. Smith 200m Jo’vaughn Martin, SHSU Zachary Jewell, UCA Johnathon Sawyer, SLU Heptathlon Colton Cohea, AMCC Scott Boon, HBU Riccardo Klotz, SLU Long Jump Markeit Steverson, NSU Zachary Johnson, SHSU Aaron Worrell, UNO Long Jump Jasmyn Steels, NSU Shaynea Redmond, SHSU Dreunna Washington, MCN 3,000m Jordan Rowe, LU Grant O’Callaghan, SLU Max Nores, UCA 200m Natashia Jackson, NSU Ajah Criner, UCA Imani Nave, SFA 5,000m Gideon Cheplak, MCN Matthew Arnold, LU Isaac Vargas, AMCC DMR SFA: L. Davis, D. Carr, N. Kabongo, K. Ramirez SLU: T. Stuntz, J. Patterson, L. Hutcheson, S. Daigle AMCC: A. Girard, A. Bustamante, Q. Johnson, V. Campos High Jump Lauren Clarke, NSU Nissi Kabongo, SFA Zoe Spinn, ACU DMR SLU: S. Foster, G. Coleman, A. Cordero, G. O’Callaghan LU: E. Peveto, C. Joseph, M. Arnold, J. Rowe MCN: A. Gilliam, T. Banks, L. Horgan, J. Croft 3,000m Kelsey Ramirez, SFA Gracie Hyde, UCA Valentina Campos, AMCC Weight Throw Trenton Bridges, SFA Jacob Mechler, ACU Vojislav Gvero, UNO Shot Put Annina Brandenburg, ACU Alanna Arvie, MCN Danielle Lorenz, UNO 60m Hurdles Darion Dunn, MCN Joshua Smith, SHSU Timor Barrett, AMCC 4x400m NSU: J. Moore, J. Fields, E. Wilson, N. Jackson SFA: I. Nave, C. Burch, M. Coquillaud-Salomon, N. Kabongo UIW: E. Sebastion, A. Brathwaite, R. Miles, D. Keys