“I feel good that I did something good and I am thankful for the recognition,” Thomas told Sportsmax.TV while revealing that since he became aware that he is to be honoured, he has reached out to many of the people who helped him build his legacy.
“One hundred years from now people will still see my name, which will live on in the state of Missouri.”
Since he took over head coach, the LU women have won nine outdoor national titles, five indoor national championships, five MIAA indoor titles and four league outdoor championships.
Meanwhile, the LU men have also excelled culminating in the Blue Tigers' 2012 outdoor season in which both of Lincoln's track & field teams finished No. 2 in the country.
In 2016, Thomas led the Lincoln men to their first MIAA Indoor Track & Field championship since 1981 while, in 2017, the Blue Tiger men captured the MIAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship.
In recognition, the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) released a statement today congratulating Thomas on his pending induction into the Hall of Fame.
“Congratulations to Lincoln University’s track and field head coach Victor ‘Poppy’ Thomas, a 14-time NCAA Division II Champion on his nomination to be inducted in the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame,” the JAAA said in a statement.
“Thomas has been named Coach of the Year 10 times by the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association and was the 2004 Heartland Conference Coach of the Year. The Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) salutes you.”
Entering the 2020-21 campaign, Thomas has coached athletes to 881 All-American performances. Since 2011, Thomas has coached 564 USTFCCCA All-Region performers, 200 athletes who have earned a spot on the MIAA Academic Honor Roll and 50 recipients of the MIAA Scholar-Athlete Award.
.
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.
The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced the award on Wednesday.
According to the USTFCCCA, Medley, who is studying Business Administration, was the only female track athlete to lead the USA in two individual events.
She held down the number-one spot in the 60m with her 7.37s and she also topped the nation in the 200m in 23.57, which was the fastest mark ever recorded on an oversized track in NCAA DII history.
Medley scored 20 points at the MIAA Indoor Championships.
“It’s a very proud feeling. It gives me validation and boosts my confidence,” she told Sportsmax.TV Wednesday.
“I was the only Division II female athlete to lead the nation in two track events and clocked the fastest 200m over recorded at NCAA D2 level. I was the MIAA conference champion in both the 60 and 200m and I did all that with a not-so-good knee.”
Nevertheless, it has been a bittersweet 48 hours for the standout Jamaican as her award came a day after the International Olympic Committee postponed the 2020 Tokyo Olympics until 2021.
Medley revealed that she harboured ambitions of being in Tokyo this summer.
“Yes, I definitely had plans. I feel a bit disappointed because I was confident that I would make the team in either the 200 or 4X100 or even in both,” she said.
However, she was quick to point out the positives of the postponement.
“I will have more time for rehabilitation and more time to train harder and come back stronger,” she said.
