Leford Green and JCSU head track & field coach Lennox Graham share a laugh at the 2010 NCAA DII Championships after a recognition filled year for both
New Orleans, LA – The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced on Wednesday, June 2nd that
Leford Green of Johnson C. Smith and Jessica Pixler of Seattle Pacific were named the National Track Athletes of the Year for Outdoor Track & Field in Division II as voted by the nation's coaches.
Green, a junior from St. Catherine, Jamaica, was the NCAA Champion in the 400-meter hurdles, clocking a lightning fast 48.67 to find victory. Only Olympic medalist Bershawn Jackson has run faster at an NCAA Division II Championship (48.50). Green added a national runner-up performance in the 400 dash, clocking a season's best 45.68. Green was also the CIAA champ in the 400-meter hurdles earlier this season.
Green has also named the 2010 USTFCCCA Atlantic Region Track Athlete of the Year and the JCSU Pettis Norman Award for Student-Athlete of the Year.
Leford Green earned his third All-American honors in NCAA indoor track and field. Green established a new personal best in the 200m and the fastest collegiate performance in the nation (20.41 seconds). This season, Green produced automatic qualifying times for the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 400m. He opened his outdoor season with a brisk 45.88 seconds to smash the Aggie Relay meet record. The time is an automatic qualifying time for the NCAA Outdoor Championships and led Division II qualifiers. The time was fourth across all divisions.
At the CIAA Outdoor Championships,
Leford Green was named Championship MVP, for the second consecutive season. In addition to performing so well on the track this year, Green is also a 3.9 GPA student majoring in Information Systems Engineering.
