RICHARDSON, Texas (Track and Field) – Nine Texas A&M University-Kingsville student-athletes appeared on the All-Lone Star Conference Men's and Women's Indoor Track and Field teams announced Friday by league officials.
Jeron Robinson was named Outstanding Field Athlete of the Year for the second time in his indoor career and
Ryan Dall earned co-Male Coach of the Year honors for the second time.
Also All-LSC conference honorees on the men's side were
Kenneth Jackson,
Jordan Yamoah,
Javier Lopez,
Michal Idziak,
Richard Cervantes and
Lutalo Boyce. On the women's side were
Kaina Martinez and
Plaserae Johnson.
Robinson tied the top mark in the high jump in all of NCAA in the Lone Star Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships Saturday, earning gold for the fourth consecutive season, becoming one of the only student-athletes ever to earn a gold medal in all four seasons of eligibility. His 7-6 (2.29m) leap is an automatic qualifier for Robinson and is more than seven inches better than the second highest leap in Division II. The mark also places him at No. 2 on the all-time Division II high jump list.
Jackson earned two gold medals with individual championships in the 60m dash and 200m dash, Idziak joined Robinson and Yamoah as a four-time champion in an event as the Poland native topped the 800m run, Lopez earned a championship in the 60 meter hurdles after yet another automatic qualifying performance and Martinez and Johnson earned championships for the women's team.
Texas A&M University-Kingsville finished second on the men's side as the seventh-ranked men's squad picked up 165 points and the women's program placed fourth with 100 points.
Jackson finished tied for third in total points with 20 after earning the top billing in the 60m and 200m dashes, Lopez earned 19.25 points, Cervantes recorded 15 and Boyce added 14. Martinez earned 19.50, fourth most among women and Johnson recorded 15.
After setting the meet record last night, Jackson earned the title in the 60m dash with a time of 6.80 to pick up 10 points for the Hogs. Jackson and teammate
Deon Hope were neck-and-neck, with Jackson earning the crown with a 6.791 performance while Hope tallied eight points with a second place finish, crossing the finish line in 6.793.
Johnson paced the women's 60m dash with the seventh best mark in school history, collecting 10 points with a provisional qualifying time of 7.50. A day after setting the meet record with the top time in the preliminaries,
Deana Richardson finished third at 7.59, adding six points for Texas A&M-Kingsville.
Jackson became a dual champion with another gold medal, earning the top mark in the 200m dash with a time of 21.65. The Javelinas shined in the event as Lopez followed at 21.83 for eight points and Hope added five points after crossing in 22.06.
The women's 200m dash had two top-five performances with
Kaina Martinez placing second at 24.62 and Johnson finishing fourth at 24.88.
Kaina Martinez posted the second fastest time in Javelina history en route to earning her first 400m dash championship with a personal best 55.37 performance.
Lopez continued his historic pace with another automatic qualifier in the 60m hurdles, setting the fourth best mark in school history behind his times earlier this season (7.77), earning 10 points.
Jamey Malvern placed third at 8.25 and
Courtney Macon finished fifth.
The 4x400m relay featured Brigance,
Jasmine Miller,
Teandria Taylor and
Kaina Martinez posted a provisional qualifier in a third-place performance while the men's team of Lopez, Hernandez,
Sean Landez and Idziak finished fourth, setting a provisional qualifying performance of their own at 3:18.88.
Boyce placed fifth in the long jump a day after earning gold in the long jump as the two posted provisional qualifying marks.
Robinson and Yamoah picked up the championship in the high jump and pole vault, respectively, for the fourth consecutive season as the duo concludes their historic careers with the indoor title in all four seasons. Robinson set an automatic qualifying time with a school and LSC record leap of 7-6.0 (2.29m) to pick up 10 points for the Hogs. Yamoah set an automatic mark in the pole vault at 17-2.75 (5.25m), an LSC-breaking mark and third best in Javelina history for 10 points.
Robinson's leap is the best jump in all of NCAA Division II and Yamoah's performance is the second best. Earlier this season, Lopez's time at the Music City Challenge in the 60 meter hurdles was the second best time in Division II.
Boyce, who was the indoor national champion in the long jump last season, set an LSC championship record with a leap of 24-7.75 (7.51m). The mark is a provisional qualifier and the fifth best in school history, giving the Westbury, N.Y. native back-to-back long jump crowns and 10 points. Cervantes earned gold in the weight throw for the first time in his career after placing in the top three last season with a throw of 57-10.50 (17.64m), a provisional qualifier and third best toss in Javelina history.
Boyce has the best mark in the long jump in DII in 2016.
Topping the charts in preliminaries were Lopez in the 60 meter hurdles in an automatic qualifying time and LSC record 7.74, while Jackson set the fifth best mark in Javelina history and qualified provisionally in the 60m dash (6.78).
Deon Hope leads the way in the 200m dash with a provisional qualifying time of 21.98.
For the women, Martinez is atop the 200m dash and 400m dash with times of 24.41 and 57.12, respectively. Both are provisional qualifiers, as was
Deana Richardson's mark in the 60m dash (7.49), which was the top time in the preliminaries and the sixth fastest time in school history.
Martinez's time in the 200m dash is the fourth fasted time in Division II in 2016.
The men's distance medley of Idziak, Hernandez,
Elias Madrid and
Francisco Solis set the second best mark in school history and finished fourth for five points (10:43.09).
On the men's side, Texas A&M-Kingsville's Robinson earned Outstanding Male Field Athlete acclaim for the second time, while West Texas A&M's Daniel Gyasi was named the Outstanding Male Track Athlete. Texas A&M-Commerce's Ross Smithey and TAMUK's
Ryan Dall shared Men's Track Coach of the Year honors.
Tarleton State's Aly Coughlin claimed Outstanding Female Track Athlete honors for the second time, while Kami Norton of Angelo State earned Outstanding Female Field Athlete acclaim. WT's Darren Flowers was named Women's Track Coach of the Year for the third straight year.
The special awards were voted upon by the league coaches.
The qualifiers for the NCAA Division II Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field Championships will be announced on March 1 at 5 p.m. on NCAA.com. The championships are March 11-12 in Pittsburg, Kan.
SPECIAL AWARDSMaleOutstanding Male Track Athlete: Daniel Gyasi, West Texas A&M
Outstanding Male Field Athlete: Jeron Robinson, Texas A&M-KingsvilleMen's Track & Field Coaches of the Year: Ross Smithey, Texas A&M-Commerce, and
Ryan Dall, Texas A&M-Kingsville SPECIAL AWARDSFemaleOutstanding Female Track Athlete: Aly Coughlin, Tarleton State
Outstanding Female Field Athlete: Kami Norton, Angelo State
Women's Track & Field Coach of the Year: Darren Flowers, West Texas A&M
