Holloway and Horn Earn USTFCCCA South Region Accolades
Monday, March 5, 2012 | Track and Field
Florida head coach Mike Holloway and senior multi-event athlete Gray Horn (Waynesfield, Ohio) were honored as the South Region Women's Indoor Head Coach of the Year and the South Region Men's Field Athlete of the Year, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced on Monday afternoon.
Holloway, who led the Florida Gators women's track and field team to the 2012 SEC Indoor Track and Field Championship, earns his first regional coaching honor indoors on the women's side. The 2012 Team USA staff assistant coach for the London Olympics was also the USTFCCCA South Region Men's Indoor Head Coach of the Year in 2011, the USTFCCCA South Region Men's Outdoor Head Coach of the Year (2009, 2010, 2011), and the 2010 USTFCCCA South Region Women's Outdoor Head Coach of the Year.
The Florida women have athletes ranked in the top three in the region in nine of 17 events. The team is currently ranked No. 1 in the region and No. 7 in the country with 19 athletes and relays ranked in the top 15 in the country.
The No. 7 Florida women took home the 2012 SEC Indoor Championship with 132 total points, despite only winning one event over the three-day meet. The Gators used depth to capture their second SEC Indoor Championship in three years, as nearly every athlete scored points on the women's side courtesy of 12 seasonal bests.
Horn was the SEC Champion in the heptathlon and is the nation's second-ranked in the event, having scored 5,971 points in the Texas A&M Challenge back in January, a performance that makes Horn the seventh-best heptathlete in the history of the NCAA. Horn also finished the season among the nation's top 20 in the long jump, having leapt to 25-1? (7.66m).
The Waynesfield, Ohio native captured his second-consecutive SEC heptathlon crown and his fifth multi-event conference title (two SEC heptathlon titles, three SEC decathlon titles) in Lexington, and has already automatically qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships.
The region award winners for the 2012 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field season were voted by the region-specific coaches. Most of the athletes and coaches will participate in the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships this upcoming weekend, Friday-Saturday, March 9-10 in Nampa, Idaho. ESPN3.com and NCAA.com will provide live coverage of the championships.
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2012 USTFCCCA Division I Indoor Track & Field Region Award Winners
GREAT LAKES REGION – Andy Bayer – Indiana
MID-ATLANTIC REGION – Robby Creese – Penn State
MIDWEST REGION – Harun Abda – Minnesota
MOUNTAIN REGION – Miles Batty – BYU
NORTHEAST REGION – Jarret Eaton – Syracuse
SOUTH REGION – Torrin Lawrence – Georgia
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION – Akheem Gauntlett – Arkansas
SOUTHEAST REGION – Ryan Hill – NC State
WEST REGION – Lawi Lalang – Arizona
Men's Field Athlete of the Year
GREAT LAKES REGION – Japheth Cato – Wisconsin
MID-ATLANTIC REGION – Conor McCullough – Princeton
MIDWEST REGION – Erik Kynard – Kansas State
MOUNTAIN REGION – Cale Simmons – Air Force
NORTHEAST REGION – Robert Golabek – Buffalo
SOUTH REGION – Gray Horn – Florida
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION – Damar Forbes – LSU
SOUTHEAST REGION – Marcus Robinson – Virginia
WEST REGION – Chris Benard – Arizona State
Men's Coach of the Year
GREAT LAKES REGION – Ron Helmer – Indiana
MID-ATLANTIC REGION – Fred Samara – Princeton
MIDWEST REGION – Connie Price-Smith – Southern Illinois
MOUNTAIN REGION – Ralph Lindeman – Air Force
NORTHEAST REGION – Nathan Taylor – Cornell
SOUTH REGION – Bob Braman – Florida State
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION – Chris Bucknam – Arkansas
SOUTHEAST REGION – Dave Cianelli – Virginia Tech
WEST REGION – Greg Kraft – Arizona State
Men's Assistant Coach of the Year
GREAT LAKES REGION – Jeff Huntoon – Indiana
MID-ATLANTIC REGION – Steve Dolan – Princeton
MIDWEST REGION – Paul Thornton – Minnesota
MOUNTAIN REGION – Ed Eyestone – BYU
NORTHEAST REGION – Gabe Sanders – Boston University
SOUTH REGION – Jon Stuart – Georgia
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION – Mario Sategna – Texas
SOUTHEAST REGION – Greg Jack – Virginia Tech
WEST REGION – James Li – Arizona
Women's Track Athlete of the Year
GREAT LAKES REGION – Christina Manning – Ohio State
MID-ATLANTIC REGION – Emily Infeld – Georgetown
MIDWEST REGION – Diamond Dixon – Kansas
MOUNTAIN REGION – Nachelle Mackie – BYU
NORTHEAST REGION – Lucy Van Dalen – Stony Brook
SOUTH REGION – Octavious Freeman – UCF
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION – Kristen Gillespie – Arkansas
SOUTHEAST REGION – Dezerea Bryant – Clemson
WEST REGION – Katie Flood – Washington
Women's Field Athlete of the Year
GREAT LAKES REGION – Jasmine Cotten – Cincinnati
MID-ATLANTIC REGION – Vanessa Henry – UMES
MIDWEST REGION – Jeneva McCall – Southern Illinois
MOUNTAIN REGION – Kelly Closse – Texas Tech
NORTHEAST REGION – Rebecca O'Brien – Buffalo
SOUTH REGION – Krystal Schade – Alabama
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION – Whitney Gipson – TCU
SOUTHEAST REGION – Tynita Butts – East Carolina
WEST REGION – (tie) – Brigetta Barrett – Arizona & Brianne Theisen – Oregon
Women's Coach of the Year
GREAT LAKES REGION – Susan Seaton – Cincinnati
MID-ATLANTIC REGION – Patrick Henner – Georgetown
MIDWEST REGION – Gary Pepin – Nebraska
MOUNTAIN REGION – Gregg Gensel – Utah State
NORTHEAST REGION – Willy Wood – Columbia
SOUTH REGION – Mike Holloway – Florida
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION – Darryl Anderson – TCU
SOUTHEAST REGION – Lawrence Johnson – Clemson
WEST REGION – Edrick Floreal – Stanford
Women's Assistant Coach of the Year
GREAT LAKES REGION – Christopher Bostwick – Michigan State
MID-ATLANTIC REGION – Chris Mittenberg – Georgetown
MIDWEST REGION – Wayne Pate – Kansas
MOUNTAIN REGION – Cliff Felkins – Texas Tech
NORTHEAST REGION – Andrea Grove-McDonough – Connecticut
SOUTH REGION – Dennis Nobles – Florida State
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION – Nic Petersen – TCU
SOUTHEAST REGION – Timothy Vaught – Charlotte
WEST REGION – Sheldon Blockburger – Arizona
