LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – After exclusive voting by the head coaches of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC), the league office today announced its 2015 Men's Outdoor Track & Field postseason awards.
Marquis Brown of Texas Lutheran University was selected as SCAC Men's Track Athlete-of-the-Year while Louie Montoto of Trinity University was voted SCAC Men's Field Athlete-of-the-Year. Alejandro Briseno of Texas Lutheran took home the SCAC Men's Track & Field Newcomer-of-the-Year honors while the Trinity coaching staff, led by head coach Marcus Whitehead, was selected Men's Track & Field Staff-of-the-Year.
Brown, a freshman from Refugio, Texas, led Texas Lutheran to an overall second place finish in the team's inaugural year as a varsity program. He finished first in both the 200 and 400 meters in times of 22.00 and 49.09, respectively. He was fifth in the 100m with a time of 11.19. Brown also was a member of the winning 4x100 relay which finished in a time of 43.01 and the second-place 4x400 relay that broke the tape in a time of 3:24.71. All of his performances this season have set school records and he currently ranks 25th in the 200 meters and 13th in the 400 meters in all of Division III.
Brown, who was also named Male Athlete-of-the-Meet at the 2015 SCAC championships, becomes the first TLU athlete to earn Track Athlete-of-the-Year honors. He picked up four votes from the coaches while Trinity's Taylor Piske earned the remaining vote.
Montoto, a freshman from San Antonio, Texas, had a fantastic SCAC championship meet - winning the high jump with a jump of 2.00m, earning second in the triple jump with a jump of 12.98m, and taking third in the long jump with a jump of 6.28m. His mark of 2.00m in the high jump ranks him 35th in Division III for the 2015 season.
Montoto was chosen unanimously as Male Field Athlete-of-the-Year.
Briseno, a freshman from Brownsville, Texas, scored 16 points in the field events to help Texas Lutheran earn second place in the team standings at the 2015 conference meet. His premiere event, the shot put, had him winning by almost six feet over the second-place finisher. Briseno's throw of 13.92 meters (45-8 ft) in the event was also a school record. He also placed third overall in the hammer with a throw of 38.76m (127-2 ft) and he earned a finish in the finals for the discus for ninth place with a throw of 31.47m (103-3 ft).
Briseno earned three votes for Newcomer-of-the-Year while Trinity's Miro Ronac Giannone picked up the remaining two votes.
Finally, the SCAC Men's Track & Field Staff-of-the-Year honor went to Trinity after another outstanding season. Whitehead led the Tigers to their third consecutive SCAC men's track & field championship in impressive fashion, finishing 78 points clear of second-place Texas Lutheran.
The Trinity staff earned four votes while Texas Lutheran earned the remaining vote.
2015 SCAC Men's Track & Field Postseason Awards
Track Athlete of the Year: Marquis Brown, Texas Lutheran University
Field Athlete of the Year: Louie Montoto, Trinity University
Newcomer of the Year: Alejandro Briseno, Texas Lutheran University
Staff of the Year: Trinity University (Marcus Whitehead, Head Coach)
