Jamaican track and field coach Victor Thomas is to be enshrined into the USTFCCCA Coaches Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2023. The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association announced the news Thursday about Lincoln University track & field head coach Victor Thomas, a 14-time NCAA Division II champion.
Thomas, who has guided Lincoln's women's track & field program to nine NCAA Division II Outdoor and five NCAA Division II indoor titles, has coached athletes nearly 1,000 All-American performances and has been named the National Coach of the Year five times in his 22-year career.
The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association has named Thomas the MIAA Coach of the Year 10 times, and he was the 2004 Heartland Conference Coach of the Year.
Under the leadership of Thomas, the Blue Tigers have won 95 individual and 41 relay national titles and have recorded 671 United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Region awards.
A 16-time USTFCCCA Regional Coach of the Year honoree, Thomas has led LU's women's and men's track & field programs to 11 total MIAA championships and finishes among the top three of the NCAA Division II Championships 28 times. Between the years of 2003-2007, Lincoln won an unprecedented five-straight NCAA Division II Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championships, and, in 2020, the LU men were ranked No. 1 in the country heading into the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships, which were ultimately cancelled due to COVID-19.
In addition to their tremendous success in the field of competition, Thomas' athletes have also been stellar in the classroom. Since Lincoln re-joined the MIAA in 2011, over 200 Blue Tigers have made the MIAA Academic Honor Roll, and LU athletes have been the recipient of more than 50 MIAA Scholar Athlete Awards. Nine athletes have been named Google Cloud/CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, and 11 have earned spots on the Google Cloud/CoSIDA Academic All-District first team. Two Blue Tigers have been named the USTFCCCA Division II Indoor Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and the Lincoln women's outdoor track & field team was selected as the USTFCCCA Scholar Team of the Year in 2017 and 2018.
Due to the tremendous success, the Blue Tigers have enjoyed under Thomas' direction, the Lincoln University Track & Field Program was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2013. Thomas himself was enshrined in the Drake Relays Hall of Fame in 2012. In 2021, Thomas was enshrined in the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.
The 2023 USTFCCCA Coaches Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, Presented by REKORTAN, will be held in Denver, Colo. on Tuesday, December 12.
Ricketts congratulates 'Bunny' Shaw on FWA Women's Player of the Year award
Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) president Michael Ricketts saluted Reggae Girl and Manchester City striker Khadija “Bunny” Shaw on her latest accomplishment of being voted the Football Writers’ Association (FWA) Women’s Player of the Year for the 2023-24 season.
Shaw won the women’s Footballer of the Year award with 80 per cent of the voters opting for either the Manchester City striker or Chelsea’s Lauren James. James finished runner-up with another Manchester City standout Alex Greenwood finishing third. Yui Hasegawa, Elisabeth Terland and Khiara Keating completed the top six.
In a release on Friday, Ricketts pointed out that the award spoke volumes of Shaw's impact on Manchester City's Women's Super League charge, as she has been a model of consistency since joining the Gareth Taylor-coached club in 2021. Her performances have placed Manchester City on the brink of securing their first WSL title since 2016.
“This award is a beautiful feather in her cap and a massive advertisement for Jamaica’s football,” Ricketts said.
“I am happy to see the consistency in quality shown by Khadija. She has always been a top player, but her standard has risen a notch this season. This augurs well for the national team in the future. We wish her all the best on the road to recovery,” he added.
Prior to Shaw sustaining a broken foot during her last Women’s Super League match against West Ham, the Reggae Girls captain scored 21 goals, which were complemented by three assists in 18 games this season.
Shaw is the third Jamaican-born individual to have won the award after John Barnes (1987-88, 1989-90) and Raheem Sterling in 2019.
However, she is the first national representative to receive the honour, as both Barnes and Sterling were England internationals when they earned the recognition.
Defending champion Lyssons hold the lead heading into final day of INSPORTS/Devon Biscuits Primary School Eastern Championships
Defending champion Lyssons Primary of St Thomas have established a 19-point lead after 11 finals heading into the final day of the INSPORTS/Devon Biscuits Primary Schools Athletics Eastern Championships.
Lyssons, hunting their third straight title, raced to 86 points, with St Andrew’s Harbour View on 67 sitting in second and Rosseau Primary of Kingston in third on 49 points with a lot of catching up to do. Half-Way Tree Primary on 40, and Windward Road with 37 complete the top five.
Lyssons won four of the 11 finals with Kristina Bailey capturing the Girls’ High Jump Open with a leap of 1.45m, the same as second-placed Shaniel White of Windward Road. Cataleah Fitten of John Mills was third with 1.39m.
They also won three of the eight relays starting with the Girls Class I 4x100 relay in a record 52.36 seconds. Lessons also won the Boys’ Class Two 4x100 in 54.12 and the Girls’ Class 4 4x100 in 1:02.13.
Harbour View’s Vanessa Melbourne won the first final of the meet throwing 37.35m to win the Girls’ Cricketball Open. Harbour View also won Boys’ Class Four 4x100 relay in 1:01.31.
Half Way Tree Primary won two relays capturing the Girls Class Three 4x100 relay in record fashion clocking 55.49 and the Girls’ Class Two 4x100 in 53.90.
Windward Road were also in record-breaking form winning the Boys’ Class Three relay in 55.04 ahead of Harbour View with 55.53.
Rosseau Primary erased the Boys’ Class One 4x100 record of 51.94 lowering it to 50.54, the same time as second-placed Lyssons. St Richards were third in 51.12.
There will be 29 finals on the third and last day starting with the Girls’ long Jump Open at 9:00 am and concluding with the 4x200m relays at 3:30 pm.
Records tumble at INSPORTS/Devon Biscuits Primary Schools Eastern Championship opening day
The Stadium East facility witnessed a spectacular display of talent on the opening day of the INSPORTS/Devon Biscuits Primary Schools Eastern Championship, with five records falling before the close of competition.
Mickoloy Saunders from Lyssons Primary set the tone by shattering the boys' 800m record, clocking an impressive 2:35.94. This performance surpassed the previous mark of 2:39.83 set by his schoolmate Yohance Carty last year. Camron Fraser of Lawrence Tavern also made waves, finishing second in the heat with a time of 2:28.37, which was under the previous record.
Romeann Gray of Seaside Primary in Portland continued the record-breaking spree in the girls' 800m, storming to victory in 2:31.51, well below the old record of 2:36.57. Deanakay Pinnock of St Patrick’s was another standout, clocking 2:42.90 in winning her heat.
Lyssons Primary showcased their dominance by breaking records in both the girls' and boys' 4x200m relays. The girls' team blazed to victory in 1:50.74, erasing Harbour View's 2023 record of 1:54.87. Meanwhile, the boys' team set a scorching time of 1:45.80, demolishing the old mark of 1:51.80 set by St Jude’s last year.
Adding to the record-breaking spree, Shemika Dobbs of Windward Road clinched the girls' Class 4 60m in a swift 9.17 seconds, eclipsing the previous record set by Sunjai KirkPatrick of Alpha.
The championship continues on Thursday with ten finals scheduled. Defending champions St Thomas’ Lyssons Primary are poised for success, having qualified numerous athletes for the finals and showcasing exceptional form early in the competition.
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