Texas A&M sweeps USTFCCCA coaching honors
Jun 19, 2009 | Track and Field
June 19, 2009
NEW ORLEANS - Texas A&M's men's Head Coach Pat Henry has been named the NCAA Division I Men's National Head Coach of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association as well as the NCAA Division I Women's National Head Coach of the Year.
In winning both team titles at the NCAA Championships held in Fayetteville, Arkansas it marked the first time one team has swept the outdoor national titles since LSU in 1990, when Henry was the Tigers head coach.
Henry led the Aggies to their first-ever men's NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field National Championship winning the team title in the final event of the championship, the 4x400 meter relay. Down 46-40 with just the 4x400 meter relay left, the Aggies needed to finish no worse than third to secure a share of the national title. Henry's relay squad did done better, finishing second in the race with a time of 3:00.91 scoring eight points to win the NCAA outdoor crown outright 48-46 over Florida, Florida State, and Oregon who tied for second in the team standings.
Heading into the final day of competition at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, the Aggies were in tenth place with 13 points but scored 35 points in four events to earn the team title. A&M picked up 18 points in the men's triple jump, eight points each in the men's 200 meter dash and 4x400 meter relay, and one point in the men's 400 meter dash.
In addition to the NCAA title, the Aggies also won the men's Midwest Regional Championship, scoring 98 points. The regional title was the second straight for the Aggie men. A&M also performed well at the Big 12 Championships as the Aggies finished second with 126 points.
A&M's storied run began with the No. 1 preseason ranking in the USTFCCCA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Rankings and ended with the NCAA Outdoor Championship trophy. For 11 weeks the Aggies never fell below fourth place in the USTFCCCA rankings.
Henry was named the Women's National Head Coach of the Year after leading his Aggies to their first-ever NCAA Outdoor Track and Field title. The title marked the 13th outdoor title for the Aggie coach, as he earned 12 outdoor titles with the LSU women prior to his arrival in College Station.
In May, Henry's Aggie squad claimed team victories at the Big 12 Outdoor Championship and the Midwest Regional championship marking the third straight year they have won both the conference and regional championships. Henry's team proved all year long that they were the top team to beat, as they were never ranked below number two in the USTFCCCA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Rankings during the 2009 outdoor campaign.
Women's National Assistant Coach of the Year
Vince Anderson, the Women's National Assistant Coach of the Year, helped lead the Aggies to the women's national team title as the Aggies scored 50 points. Oregon finished second with 43 points and Arizona State finished third with 41 points. Anderson is the sprints coach at A&M, and his sprinters made a big difference on the final day of competition, scoring 23 points. During the four-day event, Anderson's sprinters scored 42 of the 50 team points.
The 4×100 meter relay team broke a 20-year old collegiate and NCAA meet record of 42.50 set in 1989 by LSU. The women's relay crew of Khrystal Carter, Porscha Lucas, Dominique Duncan, and Gabby Mayo won A&M's third consecutive NCAA title in this event with a World and American leading time of 42.36 seconds. With the NCAA title in the 4×100, the Aggies completed the season undefeated against collegiate competition in the event. They won a total of 18 races, with 14 of them finals.
In the Midwest Region meet, Aggie wins were attained in the 200 (Lucas), 400 (Jessica Beard) and 4×100 (Carter, Lucas, Duncan, Mayo) along with a runner-up effort in the 100 hurdles. The sprints, hurdles and relays combined for 59 points as Texas A&M won a third-consecutive region team title with a tally of 96 points.
Anderson's sprint, hurdle and relay crews totaled 59 points of the 126.5 scored by Texas A&M in winning a third consecutive Big 12 Outdoor title. Conference titles were earned in the 200 (Lucas), 400 (Beard), 100 hurdles (Mayo) and 4 x 100 relay (Carter, Lucas, Duncan, Mayo).
Prior to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships, Anderson was honored as the South Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year.
Men's National Assistant Coach of the Year
Texas A&M's men's jump/multi event coach, Jim VanHootegem, has been named the NCAA Division I Men's National Assistant Coach of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, announced on Friday.
VanHootegem-coached athletes scored a total of 25 points at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships as the Aggies claimed their first-ever Division I Outdoor Track and Field title. Julian Reid paced the jumps crew with a second place finish in the triple jump and a fourth place finish in the long jump for a total of 13 points.
In the triple jump, the Aggies were represented by four athletes; Reid, Zuheir Sharif, Tyron Stewart, and Melvin Echard. The foursome totaled 18 points on the final day of competition with a 2-4-6-7 finish.
All in all, VanHootegem coached athletes earned a total of seven USTFCCCA All-American honors.
At the Midwest Regional Championship, VanHootegem's jumpers totaled 37 points in the long and triple jumps. The Aggies took a two-three-four finish in the triple jump automatically qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Championships and picking up 21 team points. In the long jump, Reid and Stewart combined for a one-three finish adding another 16 points to the team point total.
