NEW ORLEANS,
La. -- The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) recently announced their 2021 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field national awards. The American Rivers Conference (A-R-C), home to both the men's and women's national champions, were well represented. The Wartburg men's program brought home National Coach of the Year and National Assistant of the Year honors. The Loras women's program brought National Coach of the Year honors back to Dubuque, Iowa.
Per USTFCCCA, "Member coaches voted on these honors following the conclusion of the
2021 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships this past weekend in Greensboro, North Carolina, but considered performances during both the regular season and the NCAA postseason."
Wartburg's
Marcus Newsom (27th season) was named the National Men's Coach of the Year after guiding the Knights to their first outdoor team title in program history this season. The Knights collected 54 team points at this year's championships, scoring in nine different events. Earlier in the season, the Knights romped to the team title at the American Rivers Conference Outdoor Championships, scoring 247 points for a 99-point margin of victory.
In his eighth season at the helm of the Loras College Track and Field Programs, head coach
Matt Jones (8th season) was named the National Women's Coach of the Year after guiding the Duhawks to back-to-back NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships (2019, 2021). Loras scored 58 points in this year's championships while winning the 4x100-meter relay. The Duhawks had runner-up finishes in the 100-meter, 400-meter, 10,000-meter, and the 4x400-meter relay. Earlier in the season, Jones guided the Duhawks to the team title at the American Rivers Conference Outdoor Championships as they scored 247.50 points and notched 10 event titles in the process.
Ryan Chapman of Wartburg College earned the National Men's Assistant Coach of the Year accolades, in his fifth season with the Knights. As the distance and mid-distance coach, Chapman's athletes were vital to the Knights' success at this year's championships and a big reason Wartburg won their first-ever Outdoor title on the men's side. Out of the Knights' 54 points at the 2021 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Chapman's athletes scored 22. Eight of those points came from a runner-up effort in the steeplechase and seven of them resulted in a 5-6 finish in the 5000, which gave Wartburg necessary breathing room going into the 4×400 relay. During the regular season, the Knights were ranked in the top-10 of every distance event.
