LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – After exclusive voting by the head coaches of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC), the league office today announced its 2016 Men's Outdoor Track & Field postseason awards.
Marquis Brown of Texas Lutheran University was selected as SCAC Men's Track Athlete-of-the-Year while teammate Alejandro Briseno was voted SCAC Men's Field Athlete-of-the-Year. Prince Giadolor of the University of Dallas took home the SCAC Men's Track & Field Newcomer-of-the-Year honors while the Trinity coaching staff, led by head coach Marcus Whitehead, was selected Men's Track & Field Staff-of-the-Year.
Brown, a sophomore from Refugio, Texas, led Texas Lutheran to an overall second place finish in the team's second year as a varsity program. He finished first in both the 200 and 400 meters in times of 21.57 and 48.88, respectively. He was second in the 100m with a time of 10.99. Brown also was a member of the second-place 4x100 relay that broke the tape in a time of 43.34. His time in the 400 earned him a trip to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, where he finished in 11th place with a time of 47.98 seconds.
During the regular season, Brown was also undefeated in the 400 meter dash, including competition from all NCAA Divisions. During the 2016 season, he broke school records in all of his event.
Brown earned the Track Athlete of the Year honors for the second consecutive year, picking up four votes, while Trinity's Cody Hall earned the remaining vote.
Briseno, a sophomore from Brownsville, Texas, scored 22 points in the field events to help Texas Lutheran earn second place in the team standings at the 2016 conference meet. His premiere event, the shot put, had him winning by almost five feet over the second-place finisher. He competed after the SCAC championship event, breaking his own school record in the event with a throw of 52-8.75, which was just eight inches short of making the NCAA field. He also won the hammer with a throw of 42.12m (138-2 ft) and he earned a finish in the finals for the discus for fifth place with a throw of 38.08m (124-11 ft).
Briseno earned four votes for Field-Athlete-of-the-Year, while Matt Love of Trinity received one vote.
Prince Giadolor, a freshman from Rockwall, Texas, picked up track this season after competing with the University of Dallas men's basketball team. In his first time on the track, he took fourth in the 100-meter dash at the McMurry War Hawk Classic, but earned the top time in the conference with a mark of 10.84 seconds. He continued his success in the event through the season, eventually winning the event at the SCAC Championships to pick up UD's first gold medal since joining the conference. It was also Dallas' first championship in any event since 2004.
Giadolor also competed in the 200-meter dash, finishing in second place at the SCAC Championships with a time of 21.87 seconds, a new UD record. He also helped the 4x100 relay team to a third place finish and school record with a time of 44.05.
Giadolor was the coaches' unanimous choice for Newcomer-of-the-Year.
Finally, Trinity received the SCAC Men's Track & Field Staff-of-the-Year honor after another successful season. Whitehead led the Tigers to their fourth consecutive SCAC men's track & field championship, finishing 25 points ahead of second-place Texas Lutheran.
The Trinity staff earned three votes while Texas Lutheran earned the remaining two votes.
2016 SCAC Men's Track & Field Postseason Awards
Track Athlete of the Year: Marquis Brown, Texas Lutheran University
Field Athlete of the Year: Alejandro Briseno, Texas Lutheran University
Newcomer of the Year: Prince Giadolor, University of Dallas
Staff of the Year: Trinity University (Marcus Whitehead, Head Coach)
