CANYON, TX – U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country (USTFCCCA) announced the 2023 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Regional Awards on Monday afternoon. Three West Texas A&M Track and Field members were voted as Regional Women’s Track Athlete of the Year, Regional Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year and Regional Head Coach of the Year.
USTFCCCA member coaches voted on these honors following the 2023 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championship that concluded two weeks ago in Pueblo, Co. The West Texas A&M Track and Field team finished in the top 3 in the nation in both the mens and womens divisions making WT the only university to do so. The Buffs finished No. 2 while the Lady Buffs finished as No. 3 in the nation.
REGIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR
Head coach Matt Stewart was selected as the South Central Regional Coach of the Year for both the mens and womens teams, making him only one of two coaches to be selected for both divisions. Coach Stewart is in his sixth year as the Director of WT Track and Field/Cross Country. He led the Buffs to a runner-up finish at the 2023 NCAA DII Outdoor Track and Field Championships with 47 points, including a DII record of 38.70 in winning the 4×100 mens relay. His mens 4×100 relay team broke the NCAA DII record set in 2013 by St. Augustine’s. The Buffs had won the team title at the Lone Star Conference Outdoor Championships, making Coach Stewart the first Head Coach in LSC history to win back-to-back-to-back championships for both mens and womens divisions.
Coach Stewart led the Lady Buffs to a third-place finish at the National Championship with 49 points, including a national champion in the steeplechase and two relay final teams. WT tied for the most qualifiers at the championship and earned 21 All-American honors. The Lady Buffs had also won the team title at the Lone Star Conference Outdoor Championships, winning 11 events outright.
REGIONAL WOMENS ASSISTANT COACH OF THE YEAR
Cross Country/Distance Head Coach Zach Daniel was voted the South Central Regional Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year. Coach Daniel’s distance runners qualified in five events at the NCAA DII Outdoor National Championship, where two runners combined earned 21 points for the Lady Buffs. He coached national champion, Eleonora Curtabbi, in the steeplechase and Florance Uwajeneza in the 5,000m (4th) and 10,000m (3rd). His distance crew won four events at the Lone Star Conference Championship.
REGIONAL WOMENS TRACK ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Eleonora Curttabi was voted the South Central Regional Womens Track Athlete of the year after her national championship performance at the NCAA DII Outdoor National Championship. Curtabbi became a back-to-back national champion in the steeplechase and placed 6th all time in the NCAA Division II history with her fastest time of 9:57.76 in the steeplechase. She was the only DII athlete this season to run a sub-10 steeplechase. Curtabbi topped the podium in both the 1500 meters and steeplechase at the Lone Star Conference Championship.
