Texas A&M earns three USTFCCCA South Central Region awards

NEW ORLEANS – Region awards for athletes and coaches included a trio of Aggies being recognized by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association on Friday.
 
Texas A&M assistant coach Sean Brady was named women's South Central Assistant Coach of the Year. Aggie sophomore Tahar Triki, of Constantine, Algeria, claimed the South Central men's Field Athlete of the Year and freshman Tyra Gittens, of Nashville, Tennessee, earned the South Central women's Field Athlete of the Year.
 
Triki won the triple jump at the SEC Championships with a collegiate-leading mark of 55-5 ¾ (16.91) and also finished fourth in the long jump with a leap of 26-1 ½ (7.96) to score 15 points in the conference meet. Triki has qualified to the NCAA Championships in Eugene in both events.
 
Recently named the SEC Field Athlete of the Year, Gittens has added another honor during a campaign that included her winning the conference heptathlon title with 6,074 points, the collegiate freshman record. Gittens also placed third in the high jump and fifth in the long jump at the SEC meet.
 
The heptathlon score by Gittens broke the Texas A&M record as well as the Trinidad & Tobago national record. Career best marks in other events have included a 13.21 in the 100m hurdles, 6-1 ¼ (1.86) in the high jump and 21-2 ¾ (6.47) in the long jump as Gittens ranks among the top 10 on the Aggie all-time list in each.
 
The jumps and heptathlon event groups coached by Brady produced 30.5 points during the SEC Championships as the Aggies placed third in team scoring with a total of 79.5 points. Twenty of those points were generated by Gittens.
 
Qualifiers to the NCAA Championships in Eugene from Brady's event group on the women's side includes Lajarvia Brown (triple jump), Shaina Burns (heptathlon), Tyra Gittens (heptathlon, long jump), and Ciynamon Stevenson (triple jump).
 
USTFCCCA South Central Region Honors
 
Men
Track Athlete of the Year: Jaylen Bacon, Arkansas State
Field Athlete of the Year: Tahar Triki, Texas A&M
Coach of the Year: Leroy Burrell, Houston
Assistant Coach of the Year: Doug Case, Arkansas
 
Women
Track Athlete of the Year: Aleia Hobbs, LSU
Field Athlete of the Year: Tyra Gittens, Texas A&M
Coach of the Year: Dennis Shaver, LSU
Assistant Coach of the Year: Sean Brady, Texas A&M