2023 NJCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Regional Awards

NEW ORLEANS – Regional Athletes & Coaches of the Year for the 2023 NJCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field season were announced on Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Each of the three regions – Central, East and Northeast – 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 prior to the NJCAA DIII Outdoor Track & Field Championships this past weekend. Only those individuals from USTFCCCA member programs are eligible for awards.

Men’s Track Athlete of the Year

CENTRAL REGION – Bradley Ahrens – Mineral Area (Mo.)

Ahrens, a freshman from Imperial, Missouri, is the Men’s Track Athlete of the Year for the Central Region. He has the top-ranked times in NJCAA DIII for the 800 and 1500, ranks second in the 5000, and is a member of the fifth-ranked 4×400 relay team for the Cardinals. Ahrens is an All-Region XVI award winner, and his regular season bests include 3:56.60 in the 1500m at the Sycamore Open and 1:55.52 in the 800m at the Bearcat Classic.

EAST REGION – Joshua Cason – Camden County (N.J.)

Cason, a sophomore from Voorhees, New Jersey, is the Men’s Track Athlete of the Year for the East Region. He is currently ranked third nationally in the 1500 and fifth in the 5000. Cason’s regular season bests include 4:04.96 in the 1500m at the Widener Invitational and 15:55.33 in the 5000m at the Osprey Open.

NORTHEAST REGION – Samuel Estherson – Suffolk County (N.Y.) CC

Estherson, a sophomore from Kings Park, New York, is the Men’s Track Athlete of the Year for the Northeast Region. He is ranked first nationally in the 110-meter hurdles at 15.03. His regular season bests also include 23.87 (1.0) in the 200m at the Widener Invitational. Estherson is also a member of the 4x100m team ranked eighth nationally and has won four of his 110m hurdle races this season.

Men’s Field Athlete of the Year

CENTRAL REGION – Hunter Cary – Mineral Area (Mo.)

Cary, a sophomore from Herculaneum, Missouri, is the Men’s Field Athlete of the Year for the Central Region. He is ranked first nationally in the decathlon this season, fourth in the high jump, eighth in the long jump, and fifth in the javelin. Cary’s regular season bests include 5685 points in the decathlon at the Central Methodist Invitational and 1.85m (6-0¾) in the high jump at the Central Methodist Invitational.

EAST REGION – Chris Guerrieri – RCSJ Gloucester (N.J.)

Guerrieri, a sophomore from Cherry Hill, New Jersey, is the Men’s Field Athlete of the Year for the East Region. He has won four invitationals in the shot put this season and is undefeated against NJCAA competition. Guerrieri also throws the discus and is ranked second regionally and seventh nationally. His regular season bests include 15.57m (51-1) in the shot put at the Osprey Open and 41.86m (137-4) in the hammer at the Osprey Open.

NORTHEAST REGION – Chrisnel Nicolas – Queensborough (N.Y.) CC

Nicolas, a sophomore from Saint Albans, New York, is the Men’s Field Athlete of the Year for the Northeast Region. He is ranked first in the region and fourth nationally in the decathlon and second in the region and tenth nationally in the pole vault. Nicolas’s regular season bests include 4040 points in the decathlon at the Osprey Open.

Men’s Coach of the Year

CENTRAL REGION – Steve Davis – Mineral Area (Mo.)

Davis, in his fifth year as head coach at Mineral Area (Mo.), led his team to a No. 1 national ranking this season. His athletes earned top national rankings in four events: 400 meters, 800 meters, 1500 meters, and decathlon.

EAST REGION – Ryan Hughes – RCSJ Gloucester (N.J.)

Hughes, in his 20th year as head coach at RCSJ Gloucester (N.J.), led his team to a No. 4 national ranking this season, the top team from the region. His athletes earned top national rankings in two events (shot put and hammer throw) and earned eight top-5 national marks and 17 top-10 national marks. The team also had 12 athletes qualify in 16 out of 21 events.

NORTHEAST REGION – Chris Omeltchenko – Queensborough (N.Y.) CC

Omeltchenko, in his 22nd year as head coach at Queensborough (N.Y.) CC, led his team to a No. 1 ranking in the Northeast Region throughout the entire year. His athletes earned 17 individual outdoor national qualifiers and 3 relay team outdoor national qualifiers.

Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year

CENTRAL REGION – Kenny Brown – College of DuPage (Ill.)

Brown, in his first year as assistant coach of sprints and jumps at College of DuPage (Ill.), has been instrumental in helping his team achieve top individual times this season. His athletes hold the top individual times in the 100m (Noah Mack, 10.61) and 200m (Mack, 21.39), the second-best time in the 400m (Graham McAninch, 50.33), and the best time in the 400m hurdles (McAninch, 56.03).

EAST REGION – Joseph Kalnas – RCSJ Gloucester (N.J.)

Kalnas, in his 17th year as assistant coach of throws and strength at RCSJ Gloucester (N.J.), coached his athletes to regional and national leaders in multiple events. His team boasts regional leaders in three events (shot put, discus and) and national leaders in two events (shot put and hammer). His athletes hold the top regional and national marks in shot put and rank in the top two for discus and top three for hammer.

NORTHEAST REGION – Aziwoh Ayafor – Queensborough (N.Y.) CC

Ayafor, in his 13th year as assistant coach of sprints, hurdles and field events for Queensborough (N.Y.) CC, coached his athletes to top regional standings in multiple events. His team has two athletes in the 100m dash ranked second and third in the region, two athletes in the 200m dash ranked first and third, two athletes in the 110m hurdles ranked third and fourth, and two athletes in the 400m hurdles ranked second and third. The team also has a first-place ranking in the 4x100m relay and 4x400m relay events.

Women’s Track Athlete of the Year

CENTRAL REGION – Lilly Alberts – Harper (Ill.)

Alberts, a freshman from Spring Grove, Illinois, is the Women’s Track Athlete of the Year for the Central Region. She is currently ranked first nationally in both the 400 and 800, setting school records in both events (the old 400 record stood since 1989). Additionally, Alberts is a member of the nation-leading 4×400 relay team which also set a school record this season (4:02.92), and is part of the nation-leading 4×100 relay team (50.49). Her regular season bests include 2:12.42 in the 800 meters at the Elmhurst Twilight and 57.47 in the 400 meters at the Marquette Invitational.

EAST REGION – Raven Orange – Middlesex County (N.J.)

Orange, a sophomore from Carteret, New Jersey, is the Women’s Track Athlete of the Year for the East Region. She is currently the national leader in 100-meter hurdles and 400-meter hurdles, and also rates regionally No. 1 in 200 meters (26.47w) and 400 meters (1:02.11). Her regular season bests include 15.68 (0.5) in the 100-meter hurdles at the Rider Invitational and 1:06.51 in the 400-meter hurdles at the Rider Invitational.

NORTHEAST REGION – Karizma Brathwaite – Onondaga (N.Y.) CC

Brathwaite, a freshman from Syracuse, New York, is the Women’s Track Athlete of the Year for the Northeast Region. She is currently the national leader in both 100 meters and 200 meters, and regionally ranked No. 2 in 400 (1:01.39). Her regular season bests include 12.41w (4.4) in the 100 meters at the SUNY Cortland Classic Invitational and 25.58w (5.2) in the 200 meters, also at the SUNY Cortland Classic Invitational.

Women’s Field Athlete of the Year

CENTRAL REGION – Samira Rosenfeld – Harper (Ill.)

Rosenfeld, a sophomore from Schaumburg, Illinois, is the Women’s Field Athlete of the Year for the Central Region. She is currently the national leader in high jump and also rates regionally No. 4 in long jump. Her regular season bests include 1.57m (5-1¾) in the high jump at the Elmhurst Twilight and 5.21m (17-1¼) in the long jump at the Wisconsin Lutheran Green & White Invite.

EAST REGION – Megan Carden – SUNY Broome CC

NORTHEAST REGION – Bryn Whitman – Onondaga (N.Y.) CC

Whitman, a freshman from Auburn, New York, is the national leader in javelin and also ranks regionally No. 1 in discus. Her regular season bests include a throw of 30.43m (99-10) in the javelin at the SUNY Cortland Classic Invitational and a throw of 35.41m (116-2) in the discus at the Utica Pioneer Spring Invite.

Women’s Coach of the Year

CENTRAL REGION – Jim Macnider – Harper (Ill.)

Macnider, in his fifth year as head coach and his 12th year overall at Harper (Ill.), led his team to a No. 1 national ranking this season. The Hawks were top-ranked for five weeks of the year.

EAST REGION – Ryan Hughes – RCSJ Gloucester (N.J.)

Hughes, in his 20th year as head coach at RCSJ Gloucester (N.J.), led his team to a No. 8 national ranking with nine athletes qualified for nationals in 13 events.

NORTHEAST REGION – Matthew French – Suffolk County (N.Y.) CC

French, in his 15th year as head coach at Suffolk County (N.Y.) CC, led his team to a No. 4 national ranking, the top team from the region. His athletes have eight nationally ranked top-10 marks, including the number one shot put thrower, the number two 10K athlete, and the number three 4×100 relay.

Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year

CENTRAL REGION – Becky Noble – Mineral Area (Mo.)

Noble, in her first year as assistant coach at Mineral Area (Mo.), coached Emma Gerstner, who ranks No. 1 in the triple jump and No. 5 in the long jump. Noble also coaches the sprints group, which ranks No. 4 in the 200 #EventSquad Rankings and No. 5 in the 400. Her athletes own a total of eight nationally ranked top-10 marks across the sprints/jumps events.

EAST REGION – Joseph Kalnas – RCSJ Gloucester (N.J.)

Kalnas, in his 17th year as assistant coach at RCSJ Gloucester (N.J.), coached throwers to lead the region in discus and hammer, with both rating No. 2 nationally. His throwers are also ranked third and fourth regionally in javelin (No. 9 and 11 nationally).

NORTHEAST REGION – Weber Lord – Suffolk County (N.Y.) CC

Lord, in his fourth year as assistant coach at Suffolk County (N.Y.) CC, coached athletes who have qualified for nine national-qualifying marks, including Morgan Keuler, who is ranked No. 1 in the shot put; Malia Fowler, who is ranked No. 2 in the heptathlon; Jaimee Starzee, who is ranked No. 3 in the javelin, and Aaliyah Shorter, who is ranked No. 7 in the long jump.