NEW ORLEANS – ACU junior thrower
Nick Jones has been named the NCAA Division II National Field Athlete of the Year, according to the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association.
Johnson C. Smith senior sprinter Leford Green was chosen as the organization's National Track Athlete of the Year.
Jones, a junior and native of Amarillo, Texas, helped ACU to a national outdoor team title with an NCAA individual title in the discus and adding second-place points with the shot put. In the discus, Jones won the national top spot for the third time, becoming the first three-time winner of the event since Northwest Missouri's Clint Prange (2002-2003-2005).
In addition, Jones caught two meet-record tosses, claiming 198-10 (60.62m) on his first attempt before throwing the 199-3 (60.75m) on his third to win by nearly 15 feet. In the shot put, Jones placed second with a throw of 62-¼ (18.90m). Jones was also the Lone Star Conference's champion in both the discus and shot put this year.
Jones joins former Wildcat distance great Nicodemus Naimadu as national winners honored by the USTFCCCA. Naimadu was named the organization's National Track Athlete of the Year after the 2006 and 2007 seasons.
Green, a senior from St. Catherine, Jamaica, finished the season undefeated and won the NCAA title at 400 meters. In this year's outdoor championships, Green clocked 45.74 in the open event, topping the nearest competitor by a full second. In 2010, Green won the 400 hurdles at the NCAA meet, and finished sixth in the national final of the event this season. Green was also the third leg of Johnson C. Smith's winning 4x400 relay that clocked 3:07.59 for a second-plus win. Green was also on the 4x100 squad that placed fifth nationally.
