NEW ORLEANS – Regional Athletes and Coaches of the Year for the 2017 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field season were announced Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference swept the honors on the men's side.
Texas Lutheran University earned three awards with Head Coach Darlene Holland earning Coach of the Year honors and Assistant Coach Clay Holland winning Assistant Coach of the Year. Marquis Brown was named the regions Track Athlete of the Year, while Trinity University's Matt Love earned Field Athlete of the Year recognition.
Darlene Holland guided the Bulldogs to the SCAC title in just the program's third year. Scoring 272 points, her team won 10 of the 20 events contested at the league meet. TLU will have four entries into the NCAA meet and have a top-20 national ranking.
Clay Holland, in his 1st year with the program, helped Texas Lutheran win their 1st ever SCAC Championship, as his athletes totaled 81 points at the meet, including a 1-4 sweep of the 100 meters. His athletes broke school and conference records in the 100 meters and 4×100 relays. A total of 6 of his athletes are in the top-10 in their respective events across the South/Southeast Region.
Brown, a junior from Refugio, Texas, is the top-ranked athlete at 400 meters in NCAA DIII with a time of 46.90 (47.01 altitude conversion). He is also ranked 7th nationally at 200 meters with a time of 21.31 and is the anchor of the 3rd-ranked 4×100 relay team in the nation.
Love, a junior from New Braunfels, Texas, is ranked 8th nationally in the discus throw with a heave of 51.52m (169-0).
To view the entire list of honorees, click here.
