SAC Sweeps USTFCCCA Men's Track & Field Region Awards

NEW ORLEANS – Regional Athletes and Coaches of the Year for the 2021 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field season were announced on Friday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Each of the eight regions – Atlantic, Central, East, Midwest, South, South Central, Southeast and West – honored both genders' top track athletes and field athletes as well as the top men's and women's head coaches and assistant coaches.

Award winners were determined by a vote of USTFCCCA member coaches. Only those individuals from USTFCCCA member programs are eligible for awards.

Many of these honored athletes and coaches are headed to the 2021 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships next week in Allendale, Michigan.

Representing the SAC were Queens' Seb Anthony as Southeast Region Track Athlete of the Year, Queens' Martin Knauer as Southeast Region Field Athlete of the Year, Limestone's Joseph Wassink as Southeast Region Coach of the Year, and Wingate's Pol Domenech as Southeast Region Assistant Coach of the Year. 

Anthony, a junior from Bury St Edmunds, England, is ranked third nationally in the 800 at 1:48.75. He completed the 800-1500 sweep at the SAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

Knauer, a junior from Wolnzach, Germany, is ranked sixth nationally in the shot put at 18.56m (60-10¾). He scored 32 points at the SAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships with a victory in the shot put, runner-up efforts in the discus and javelin, as well as a third-place showing in the hammer.

Wassink, in his ninth year at Limestone, led his team to a fourth place finish in the team standings at the SAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships and had four event winners. The Saints are ranked within the top-10 nationally in four events. In the #EventSquad Rankings, his groups are ranked No. 3 in the 300 and No. 4 in the 100. The Saints will have eight athletes compete in five events at the NCAA Championships.

Domenech, in his third year as distance coach at Wingate, led the Bulldog runners to multiple spots in the Southeast Region top-20 in four events – 1500 (six), 5000 (six), 10,000 (eight) and steeplechase (four). The 10K group rated No. 4 in #EventSquad rankings, while the steeplers were No. 7. His athletes scored 82 out of the team's 150 points at the SAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships.