LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – After exclusive voting by the head coaches of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC), the league office today announced its 2018 Women’s Outdoor Track & Field postseason awards.
Ashley Rynard of Texas Lutheran University was selected as the Women’s Track Athlete-of-the-Year, while Britney Sullivan of Trinity University earned Field Athlete-of-the-Year honors.
Dejah Carr of TLU was the coaches' choice for Newcomer-of-the-Year honors, and the Trinity coaching staff rounded out the awards, earning Coaching Staff-of-the-Year.
Rynard, a sophomore from Temple, Texas, squeaked into the 2018 NCAA Division III national meet in the 800 meters, and turned a previous best of 2:12.65 into a huge school and personal record of 2:09.80, earning her a spot in the finals at the championships. She finished ninth overall out of the 22-woman field.
In April, Rynard ran to individual conference titles in the 800 and 1500, was the runner-up in the 400 meters and anchored the 4x400 relay en route to winning SCAC Athlete-of-the-Meet honors. She earned All-Region honors this year in both the 800 and as a member of the Bulldogs' 4x400 meter relay.
Sullivan, a senior from Dallas, Texas, won the triple jump for the third time in four years at this year's conference meet, and also was part of the winning 4x100 meter relay team, while finishing as runner-up in the long jump and eighth in the 100 meters.
She qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships for the fourth straight season, and placed seventh in the triple jump for All-America recognition. Sullivan also competed in the long jump and finished in 14th place. Additionally, Sullivan was a 2018 All-South/Southeast Region honoree in the triple jump, long jump, and the 4x100-meter relay.
The 2016 SCAC Field Athlete-of-the-Year, Sullivan becomes just the second SCAC student-athlete (since the award was established prior to the 2011 season) to earn the award multiple times in a career.
Texas Lutheran's Carr, a freshman from Houston, Texas, won the hammer throw (143-3), was runner-up in the discus (130-5) and fourth in the shot (36-4) to score 22 points for her team at the 2018 SCAC championship meet. In the South/Southeast Region, Dejah is ranked 10th in the discus, 13th in the hammer and 21st in the shot.
Carr is the second straight TLU student-athlete to win the Newcomer-of-the-Year honor, following teammate Ashley Rynard.
Finally, the SCAC Women’s Track & Field Staff of the Year honor went to the Trinity staff after another strong season. The Tigers won the SCAC women’s track & field championship for the fourth consecutive year, defeating second-place TLU by 61.5 points. Led by sixth-year Head Coach Marcus Whitehead, the award marks the fourth straight year he and his assistant coaches were honored as the SCAC Women’s Staff of the Year. The Tiger women won 10 events at the 2018 conference championship meet and sent a league-high three individuals to the NCAA Championships. Trinity also led the way among conference programs as the Tigers accounted for 14 of the leage's 28 All-South/Southeast Region performers.
