Victor

“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.

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