The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Southeast Region awards were given out this afternoon and Kentucky track & field Associate Head Coach Tim Hall and graduate Masai Russell were both recipients for their accomplishments during the outdoor season. The Southeast Region includes 35 Division I schools in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Kentucky. Hall received the Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year Award while Russell was named Women’s Track Athlete of the Year.
Hall has won 12 Regional Assistant Coach of the Year awards from the USTFCCCA, eight of which were earned during his time at Kentucky. In his fifth season, Hall directed the Wildcats to seven entries at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, earning medals with the women’s 4×100-meter relay team and 12 of the team’s 28 points in their sixth place finish. He led the team to 10 USTFCCCA All-America recipients and a new school and freshman record in the 100-meter dash.
Russell, from Potomac, Maryland, earned three runners-up medals at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, scoring 18.75 points for the team in their sixth place finish. Her achievements earned her four USTFCCCA First-Team All-America honors. Russell’s collegiate record time of 12.36 in the 100-meter hurdles set at the Texas Relays earlier this year still stands. It also secured her seven straight nominations to the Bowerman Watchlist, which recognizes the top-performing male and female NCAA track and field athletes in the country.
The University of Kentucky’s track and field program has a strong reputation, with both the men’s and women’s teams currently sitting in the top 25 of the USTFCCCA National Team Computer Rankings. The Wildcats have also produced 166 All-Americans and 17 NCAA individual national champions in program history.
Winning regional awards like these highlights the success of both individuals and the team as a whole. The recognition helps to showcase the hard work and dedication put in by the athletes and coaches. It also serves as motivation for continued success in the future and attracts top talent to the program.
