McDonnell Named Coach of the Year SEC Outdoor Track and Field Awards Announced

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Southeastern Conference announced its outdoor track and field award winners on Monday and Arkansas’ John McDonnell was named the SEC Coach of the Year.

McDonnell led Arkansas to its 84th conference title, 46th SEC title, 23rd outdoor conference title and 14th SEC outdoor title. The Razorbacks ended the SEC championship weekend (May 15-18) with four event titles (5,000 meters, long jump, triple jump and javelin) and 10 All-SEC honors.

McDonnell has been named National Coach of the Year 12 times in indoor track, 11 times in outdoor track and seven times in cross country for a total of 30 awards. He has been Conference Coach of the Year a remarkable 50 times and Region Coach of the Year 62 times.

Also honored by the SEC were Chris Bilbrew, Luke Laird and Duncan Phillips as the trio was named to the SEC All-Freshmen team. Bilbrew in the 800 meters, Laird in the javelin and Philips in the 1,500 meters were the highest-finishing freshmen in their respective events.

Alain Bailey, Nkosinza Balumbu, Laird and James Strang were named first-team All-SEC for their winning performances at the SEC Championships at Auburn. Shawn Forrest (10,000 meters), Peter Kosgei (3,000-meter steeplechase) and Spencer McCorkel (pole vault) earned second-team All-SEC honors for their runner-up finishes in their respective events.

LSU’s Richard Thompson was named the SEC Runner of the Year, Cory Martin of Auburn was named SEC Field Athlete of the Year, Johnny Dutch of South Carolina was named the SEC Freshman Runner of the Year and Tennessee’s Joseph Berry was named the SEC Freshman Field Athlete of the Year.

Arkansas will host the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships at John McDonnell Field, Friday-Saturday, May 30-31. Visit www.hogwired.com for complete details about the event.