SUWANEE, Ga. -- After exclusive voting by the head coaches of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC), the league office today announced its 2023 Men's Outdoor Track & Field postseason awards.
James Settles of Colorado College was selected as the Men’s Track Athlete-of-the-Year, while Texas Lutheran University’s Gerrit Twitero earned the Men’s Field Athlete-of-the-Year.
Jonathan Olmsted of University of Dallas was the coaches’ choice for Newcomer-of-the-Year honors and the Trinity University coaching staff rounded out the awards, earning Men’s Staff-of-the-Year.
The all-conference team is determined by performance at the conference championship meet where the top three finishers in each event are recognized as All-SCAC. Complete All-SCAC Men's Track & Field Team
Settles, a junior from Claremont, Calif., secured All-American honors last month at the 2023 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships with a fourth-place finish in the 5,000-meters (14:12.53). It marked the highest SCAC finish in a track event at the NCAA Championships since Trinity’s Cody Hall finished runner-up in the 110-meter hurdles in 2018. He is the first CC male athlete to earn AA honors since Julian Boggs in 2007. At the 2023 SCAC Championships, Settles earned three individual All-SCAC accolades, including a pair of gold medal performances in the 5,000- and 10,000-meters. His performance in the 5,000-meters (14:56.91) was the second fastest time in SCAC Championship history, while his time in the 10,000-meters (32:20.95) was the third fastest and the best mark posted since 2003. Settles, who also pulled off the 5,000/10,000 sweep in 2021, is just the third SCAC man to win both races at a single championship twice in a career. His performance in 2021 led to Settles being named SCAC Newcomer-of-the-Year and he now joins Trinity’s Sean Majors (2019/2022) as the only other male athlete in league history to win both league Newcomer-of-the-Year and Track Athlete-of-the-Year honors. Settles is just the second CC Tiger to earn SCAC Track Athlete-of-the-Year, joining Josh Fry who secured the award in 2021. Additionally, Settles was named SCAC Men’s Track & Field Elite 19 Award recipient back in April.
Twitero, a native of McQueeney, Texas, had a banner year, culminating in a fourth-place finish (2.02m) in the high jump to earn All-American honors at last month’s National Championship. The junior is the first athlete in TLU’s Division III history to earn AA accolades and the first SCAC athlete since Jerry Maldonaldo of former member Hendrix College in 2008 to earn the honor in the event. Twitero, the USTFCCCA West Region Men's Field Athlete of the Year, was the top qualifying athlete going into nationals, after setting a TLU record clearing 2.10m back in May. Earlier in the year, he became the sixth SCAC male athlete in league history to earn back-to-back conference titles in the high jump after clearing 2.05m back in April at the SCAC Championships. Twitero is the third TLU Bulldog to earn SCAC Field Athlete-of-the-Year accolades, joining Garrett Garza (2019) and Alejandro Briseno (2016).
Olmsted burst onto the scene, winning the 400-meters at the 2023 SCAC Championship meet, breaking the tape in 48.43. It was the fifth fastest time in SCAC Championship meet history. The Poulsbo, Washington native is the third Crusader in program history to earn an individual SCAC Title, joining Kevin McGuirk (400-meter hurdles – 2019) and Prince Giadolor (100-meters – 2016). Olmsted’s honor marks the second in Dallas Track & Field history, Giadolor took home the accolade back in 2016.
The Trinity University staff was selected for Track and Field Staff-of-the-Year after winning the 2023 SCAC Men's Track and Field Championship in April. Led by head coach Marcus Whitehead, the team picked up five individual victories and the 4x400 meter relay en route to the program's third straight and 14th overall SCAC Men's Track & Field title. This is the 14th overall time the Trinity University staff has been honored with SCAC Men's Staff-of-the-Year honors, and the seventh time under Whitehead's leadership.
