NEW ORLEANS – Regional Athletes & Coaches of the Year for the 2021 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field season were announced on Thursday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
The Cascade Collegiate Conference was well represented, taking home seven of the eight West Region top honors.
Oregon Tech’s Hunter Drops was named the West Region Men’s Field Athlete of the Year, while assistant coach Laura Schwartz was named the West Region Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year. Eastern Oregon University’s Ben Welch was named the West Region Men’s Coach of the Year, while Maggie Ledbetter was named the West Region Women’s Field Athlete of the Year. Southern Oregon University’s Arianna Daniel was named the West Region Track Athlete of the Year. College of Idaho’s Austin Basterrechea was named the West Region Women’s Coach of the Year and Mike Anderson was named the West Region Women’s Assistant of the Year.
Drops, a junior from Coos Bay, Oregon, is ranked first nationally in the javelin at 70.93m (232-9), a mark in which he set a conference record. He is also ranked ninth nationally in the decathlon at 6438 points and 11th nationally in the pole vault at 4.80m (15-9).
Schwartz, in her 10th year at Oregon Tech, coached two athletes to improvements of more than 20 feet this year in the javelin, including national leader Hunter Drops. She also coaches the Owls’ distance squad, which has an athlete ranked in the top-5 nationally in the 5000.
Welch, in his 19th year at Eastern Oregon, led the Mountaineers to a share of the team title at the Cascade Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships with 203 points and eight event titles. The Mountaineers have 11 top-20 nationally ranked events and are ranked in the top-15 across 10 disciplines in the #EventSquad Rankings, including the No. 2 decathlon squad. Eight of his athletes have qualified for the NAIA Championships.
Ledbetter, a sophomore from Cove, Oregon, is ranked 10th nationally in the discus at 45.02m (147-9) and 11th nationally in the shot put at 13.67m (44-10¼). She scored 26 points at the Cascade Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships thanks to a discus-shot sweep and a third-place effort in the hammer.
Daniel, a senior from Elk Grove, California, is ranked among the top-15 nationally in four different events – 400 (No. 3, 55.39), 4×100 (No. 5, 46.56), 4×400 (No. 7, 3:51.45) and 200 (No. 11, 24.32w). She scored 26½ points at the Cascade Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Basterrechea, in his fourth year at College of Idaho, led the Coyotes to the team title at the Cascade Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships with 244 points and had six event champions. The Coyotes are No. 13 in the USTFCCCA National Rating Index and No. 1 in the West Region. He guided his athletes to 12 total national qualifying marks.
Anderson, in his 14th year at the College of Idaho, led the distance crew to score 98 of the Coyote’s 241 points in winning the Cascade Collegiate Conference Championships. His leading star was Larissa Mauer, who swept the steeplechase, 5000 and 10,000.
Award winners were determined by a vote of USTFCCCA member coaches. Only those individuals from USTFCCCA member programs are eligible for awards.