NEW ORLEANS – The Sun Belt Conference on Friday announced its Outdoor Track & Field Awards, recognizing standout performances from the 2024 season. The awards were voted on by the head coaches of Sun Belt Conference track & field programs.
The Sun Belt also announced the All-Sun Belt Conference honorees from the 2024 Sun Belt Outdoor Championships.
The student-athletes recognized include:
• Men’s Track Performer of the Year: Daniel Harrold, Texas State
• Men’s Field Performer of the Year: Francois Prinsloo, South Alabama
• Men’s Freshman of the Year: Kingsley Unorji, Southern Miss
• Men’s Newcomer of the Year: Genson Hooper Price, Coastal Carolina
• Men’s Coach of the Year: Paul Brueske, South Alabama
• Women’s Track Performer of the Year: NaJ Watson, Georgia Southern
• Women’s Field Performer of the Year: Elisabet Runarsdottir, Texas State
• Women’s Freshman of the Year: Lara Roberts, Texas State
• Women’s Newcomer of the Year: Ashlee Osaji, App State
• Women’s Coach of the Year: John Frazier, Texas State
Men’s Track Performer of the Year: Daniel Harrold, Texas State
Texas State’s Daniel Harrold is ranked No. 6 in the nation and No. 4 in the NCAA West Region for the 110m hurdles, with a time of 13.35. At the SBC Outdoor Championships, Harrold placed first in the finals of the event and set the Texas State record, Sun Belt Conference Championship Meet record and the ULM facility record, with a time of 13.45. In the prelims of the 110m hurdles, he placed 1st, set the ULM facility record and recorded the 4th fastest time in school history, with a mark of 13.67. He was also a part of the men’s 4x100, who placed 2nd and recorded a 39.66, which is the 4th-best time in school history. He has recorded seven top-2 finishes this season and has recorded five of the fastest times in school history for the 110m hurdles. He was named SBC Track Athlete of the Week once during the 2024 season and earned Sun Belt Indoor Track Performer of the Year this season.
Men’s Field Performer of the Year: Francois Prinsloo, South Alabama
A four-time Sun Belt Conference Champion in the discus, Francois Prinsloo had a historic season for the South Alabama Track and Field team. The South African native exceeded the Olympic qualifying mark of 67.20m/214-6 earlier this season at the Southern Miss Open with a monstrous throw of 67.26m/220-8 to break his own school record. With that mark, Prinsloo is ranked sixth on the NCAA all-time discus throw list. Additionally, he’s ranked No. 2 in the NCAA Track and Field rankings, trailing the No.1 overall mark by three centimeters. Throughout the season, Prinsloo threw over 60 meters in the discus six times, while no other athlete in the Sun Belt eclipsed that mark this year. Prinsloo was named Sun Belt Field Athlete of the Week four times in the outdoor regular season before winning two gold medals in the discus and the hammer throw at the 2024 Sun Belt Outdoor Conference Championships. After two first place finishes and a sixth place finish in the shot put, Prinsloo garnered the Men’s Top Point Scorer at the SBC Championships. He will
also advance to the NCAA East Preliminary Round for the fourth time in his career.
Men’s Freshman of the Year: Kingsley Unorji, Southern Miss
Southern Miss’ Kingsley Unorji scored in two different events at the Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Championships, collecting second in the 100 meters and fifth in the 4x100 relay. His time of 10.28 in the 100-meter final marked a personal-best. He won the Southern Miss Invite with a 10.37. He also registered a 10.30 time at the LSU Alumni Gold. Unorji was also a part of one first-place finish with the 4x100 team, winning the Southern Miss Invite with a time of 40.61.
Men’s Newcomer of the Year: Genson Hooper Price, Coastal Carolina
In his first year of competition in track and field, Hooper Price won a gold medal and his first-ever Sun Belt Conference title in the men’s 400m finals with a time of 46.09. He set another personal-best in the 200m finals at the Sun Belt Championships with a time of 21.13. His other two personal-best performances this season came in the long jump competition at the East Coast Relays with a 6.47m distance and at the USC Open with a 10.89 final time in the 100m hurdles.
Men’s Coach of the Year: Paul Brueske, South Alabama
In his 17th season at the helm of the South Alabama Track and Field program, head coach Paul Brueske led the Men of South Alabama to its second Sun Belt Outdoor Track and Field Championship in the last three years. The Jags put up a dominant 143 points with four first-place finishes, two of which were meet records and facility records. South Alabama compiled six silver medals, scored points in every throwing event, and placed three athletes in the top five in the decathlon. Brueske has three athletes ranked in the Top 10 in their respective events in the NCAA Track and Field rankings, while nine athletes have qualified for the NCAA Preliminary Rounds in Lexington, Ky., next week.
Women’s Track Performer of the Year: NaJ Watson, Georgia Southern
Georgia Southern’s Naj Watson was the top meet scorer at both the indoor and outdoor conference championships. Watson was also the Sun Belt Indoor Track Performer of the Year. The Charleston, S.C. native was the Sun Belt champion in the 200m, breaking the Georgia Southern University 10-year old school record, and the facility record in a time of 23.19. She finished as conference runner-up in the 100m dash after breaking the 19-year old school record of 11.41. Watson capped off the championship meet by anchoring the 4x400m relay to a 3rd place finish with a split of 53.21. In the preliminary rounds, Watson ran times of 11.41 and 22.94 which places her 46th and 18th respectively in the NCAA East Region in the 100 and 200m. She finishes the conference year ranked 34th in the nation for the 200m dash.
Women’s Field Performer of the Year: Elisabet Runarsdottir, Texas State
Texas State’s Elisabet Runarsdottir has been ranked No. 1 in the nation for the women’s hammer throw since the start of the outdoor season. She set the Icelandic National Record twice this season, with throws of 70.33m/230-9 and 70.04m/229-9 and is the only athlete in the NCAA to record multiple throws over 70 meters. At the 2024 SBC Outdoor Championships, she placed first with a mark of 69.08m/226-8 and recorded the furthest throw by over 3 meters. She recorded 3 of the top-10 throws in Texas State history this season and recorded six top-two finishes this season. She was named the SBC Field Athlete of the Week twice this season.
Women’s Freshman of the Year: Lara Roberts, Texas State
Texas State’s Lara Roberts is the No. 1 ranked freshman in the country for the women’s hammer throw and is ranked No. 15 overall, with her PR throw of 65.98m/216-2. At the 2024 SBC Outdoor Championships she placed 2nd in the women’s hammer throw, with a mark of 65.28m/214-2. She is the only freshman in the country to record four throws over 65 meters this season and recorded 8 top-four finishes throughout the 2024 season. She earned the SBC Field athlete of the week award once during the outdoor season.
Women’s Newcomer of the Year: Ashlee Osaji, App State
App State graduate student Ashlee Osaji clinched gold in the women’s long jump with a leap of 6.26m/20-6.5 and placed fourth in the women’s triple jump with a season best leap of 12.58m/41-3.25 at the Sun Belt Championships. On March 23, Osaji broke the App State program record, which had been set in 1993, and Sun Belt Conference record, which had been set in 2012, with a leap of 6.54m/21-5.5 to place first in the women’s long jump at the Weems Baskin Relays. Her performance earned her SBC Women’s Field Athlete of the Week honors on March 27. She also garnered a first-place finish in the women’s long jump at the Duke Invitational with a leap of 6.31m/20-8.5. Osaji ranks fifth in the final NCAA East Prelim Qualifying list and 14th in the NCAA overall in the women’s long jump category.
Women’s Coach of the Year: John Frazier, Texas State
Under the direction of John Frazier, the Texas State women’s team won its first SBC title since 2018 and scored 120.2 points, which is the most since 2019 for the Bobcats. Three members of the women’s team won individual titles at the SBC meet and 10 student-athletes finished on the podium in their respective events. Under Frazier, the women’s team has the No. 1 and No. 15 ranked hammer thrower in the country and the No. 1 ranked freshman hammer thrower in the country. The women’s team also has the No. 2 ranked hammer throw event squad, No. 9 ranked discus throw event squad and the No. 9 ranked shot put event squad in the nation. They also earned three SBC athlete of the week awards during the 2024 season.
2024 Sun Belt Men’s Outdoor All-Conference First Team
Garrett Bivens, App State
Ethan Lipham, App State
Willem Coertzen, Arkansas State
Colby Eddowes, Arkansas State
Hannes Fahl, Arkansas State
Cash Kunkel, Arkansas State
Genson Hooper Price, Coastal Carolina
Jamhad Booth, Louisiana
Javed Jones, Louisiana
Trejun Jones, Louisiana
Garry Munro, Louisiana
Floyd Pond, Louisiana
Xavier Johnson, South Alabama
Francois Prinsloo, South Alabama
Kyle Rademeyer, South Alabama
Zayne Palomino, Southern Miss
Kashawn Baptiste, Texas State
Shawn Collins, Texas State
Daniel Harrold, Texas State
Taahir Kelly, Texas State
Chris Preddie, Texas State
Dominick Yancy, Texas State
Cole Stewart, Troy
2024 Sun Belt Men’s Outdoor All-Conference Second Team
Matthew Gray, App State
Oliver Wilson-Cook, App State
Braydon Bennett, Coastal Carolina
Deondre Hardy, Coastal Carolina
Robert Johnson, Coastal Carolina
Brendan Kovar, Coastal Carolina
Peyton Chiasson, Louisiana
Jeremy Nelson, Louisiana
Reuben Booysen, South Alabama
Dorian Curry, South Alabama
Nic Glass, South Alabama
Sebastian Loschner, South Alabama
Sacha Perrier, South Alabama
Kendal White, South Alabama
Kaya Ludgood, Southern Miss
Kingsley Unorji, Southern Miss
Wardell Glaspie, ULM
Algirdas Strelciunas, ULM
2024 Sun Belt Men’s Outdoor All-Conference Third Team
Jonah Bird, App State
Harrison Robinson, App State
Niejel Wilkins, App State
Ashlund Dixon, Coastal Carolina
Garrett Wilkins, Coastal Carolina
Mason Haley, Louisiana
Evan White, Marshall
Omar Austin, Southern Miss
Elijah Berry, Southern Miss
Piers Cameron, Southern Miss
Javel Fullerton, Southern Miss
Tyler Nichols, Southern Miss
Jacoby Tanner, Southern Miss
Kashawn Baptiste, Texas State
Michaelangelo Bullard, Texas State
Easton Hammond, Texas State
Morgan Reese, Troy
Javon Osbourne, Troy
Oscar Prieto, ULM
2024 Sun Belt Women’s Outdoor All-Conference First Team
Ashlee Osaji, App State
Bella Coscetti, Arkansas State
Elizabeth Martin, Arkansas State
Amanda Kinloch, Coastal Carolina
NaJ Watson, Georgia Southern
Maleah Heard, Georgia State
Miranda Stanhope, James Madison
Moseiha Bridgen, Louisiana
Blair Lafleur, Louisiana
Abby Herring, Marshall
Kylee Mastin, Marshall
Trinity Benson, Southern Miss
Trinity Flager, Southern Miss
Jada McDougle, Southern Miss
Addison McLaurin, Southern Miss
Alana Simon, Southern Miss
Savi’a Varnell, Southern Miss
Melanie Duron, Texas State
Elisabet Runarsdottir, Texas State
Utitofon Sam, Texas State
Kimone Campbell, ULM
Eunice Ilunga Mbuyi, ULM
Claudine Raud-Gumiel, ULM
2024 Sun Belt Women’s Outdoor All-Conference Second Team
Jayla Adams, App State
Addison Ollendick-Smith, App State
Sierra Smith, App State
Daye Talley, App State
Nicole Wells, App State
Cadence Lapp, Arkansas State
Camryn Lorick, Coastal Carolina
Keniya Walker, Georgia State
Kayli Williams, Georgia State
Marin Barras, Louisiana
Ta’La Spates, Louisiana
Taylor Walls, Louisiana
Rebecca Merritt, Marshall
Alexis Gratia, South Alabama
Za’Isha Fraser, Southern Miss
Taejha Badal, Texas State
Ma’khi Falkquay, Texas State
Kaylee Lewis, Texas State
Abigail Parra, Texas State
Kerris Roberts, Texas State
Lara Roberts, Texas State
Lauryn Small, Texas State
2024 Sun Belt Women’s Outdoor All-Conference Third Team
Rahel Broemmel, Arkansas State
Isabel Daines, Arkansas State
Cheyenne Melvin, Arkansas State
Selase Sampram, Arkansas State
Molly Jones, Coastal Carolina
Lauren Euler, Georgia Southern
Sofia Molina, Georgia Southern
Imani Moore, Georgia Southern
Alanna Smith, Georgia Southern
Erica Moolman, James Madison
Amari Ashford, Louisiana
Taylor Davis, Louisiana
Skylar Delgado, Louisiana
Sarah Dupuy, Louisiana
Kennedy London, Louisiana
Mari Robinson, Louisiana
Tyra Thomas, Marshall
Mikah Alleyne, Marshall
Bodine Degli-Umberti, South Alabama
Biniosa Ezukuse, Troy
