PROVIDENCE, RI – Houston track and field head coach Leroy Burrell and UConn sophomore thrower Divine Oladipo picked up U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) outdoor track and field regional awards, as announced by the organization on Friday. Burrell was named the South Central Region Coach of the Year, while Oladipo earned the Northeast Region Field Athlete of the Year.
Each of the nine regions honored both genders’ top track athletes and field athletes, and the top men’s and women’s head coaches and assistant coaches.
Leroy Burrell * South Central Region Men’s Coach of the Year * Houston
Burrell, in his 20th year at Houston, led the Cougars to the American Athletic Conference Championship behind eight individual conference event titles. Houston ranks in the nation’s top ten after qualifying 11 to the finals site of the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Divine Oladipo * Northeast Region Field Athlete of the Year * UConn
Oladipo, a sophomore from London, United Kingdom, ranked ninth nationally in the shot put this season with a mark of 17.37m (57-0). She placed third in the event at the American Athletic Conference Championships in addition to finishing second in the discus with throw of 51.42m (168-8).
The American Athletic Conference will be well represented at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships with 36 student-athletes from eight of the conference’s schools punching tickets to the national meet held at the University of Oregon’s historic Hayward Field from June 6-9.