Many of these honored athletes and coaches are headed to the
2021 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships next week in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Men’s Track Athlete of the Year
GREAT LAKES REGION – Tyler Johnson – Ohio State
Johnson, a junior from Dayton, Ohio, is ranked first nationally in the 400 at 45.07 OT, a mark that he ran to win the individual title at the Big Ten Indoor Championships and broke the conference record. He also won the 200 at the Big Ten Indoor Championships in 20.86 OT, a mark that ranks him 18th nationally.
MID-ATLANTIC REGION – Sincere Rhea – Penn State
Rhea, a sophomore from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is ranked 14th nationally in the 60H, a mark that he used to win the event title at the Big Ten Indoor Championships. He was the first Penn State athlete to win a conference title in the 60H.
Carey McLeod.
Carey McLeod’s triple jump victory was among the highlight on Saturday’s final day of the three-day SEC Indoor Championships inside the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
The 22-year-old, formerly of Kingston College (KC), and now a junior at the University of Tennessee placed himself among the top-10 triple-jumping collegians in NCAA indoor history, recording a mark of 17.17m to win the men’s triple jump.
McLeod recorded the 17.17m on his sixth-round attempt. He now ranks as the No. 10 triple jump performer in collegiate indoor history.
McLeod s jump was a new school record and surpassed the 2020 Olympic qualifying standard, in addition to being the No. 1 mark in the NCAA and No. 3 in the world for the 2020-21 indoor campaign.
Jamaica s World Under-20 champion Damion Thomas.
Jamaica s World Under-20 champion Damion Thomas, of Louisiana State University (LSU), put together two impressive performances in the men s 60m at the Charlie Thomas Invitational at the Gilliam Indoor Stadium in Texas on Saturday.
The three-time All-American twice broke the meet record on his way to victory in the final. He ran a time of 7.72 to win the gold medal, overtaking a meet record that has stood since 2011. Thomas was closely followed by fellow teammate Eric Edwards Jr. as he crossed the finish line in second place with a time of 7.78.
Thomas clocked a meet record 7.75 to win his heat in the prelims.