Mounties Track & Field Earns Multiple Regional Awards
By Paul Hall on Monday, March 1st, 2021 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
LA GRANDE – The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced its 2021 Regional Athlete and Coaches of the Year awards Friday morning. Eastern Oregon was no well represented on the list raking in four awards for the indoor season.
Award winners were determined by a vote of USTFCCCA member coaches. Only those individuals from USTFCCCA member programs are eligible for awards.
Bringing home hardware for the Mountaineers was Ben Welch who was named the West Region Head Coach of the Year on the men’s side. Rebecca Rhodes also garnered a coaching honor as she was named the West Region Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year.
On the athlete side, Allexander Kosel was tabbed as the Male West Region Field Athlete of the Year. On the women’s side, Jasmine Devers received the West Region Female Track athlete of the Year award. Both athletes rank in the top-10 for their respective events and have qualified for Indoor Nationals.
Coach Welch is in his 19th year at the helm of Eastern Oregon. He currently has his Mountaineers ranked No. 22 in the USTFCCCA National Rating Index and No. 1 in the West Region. The Mountaineers will be represented by six men across six different events at this year’s NAIA Indoor Championships.
Coach Rhodes is in her fourth year as the top assistant under Welch at Eastern Oregon. She coaches and oversees a multitude of events, from jumps, sprints, hurdles and combined events. She has helped lead athletes to six national-qualifying positions in just two regular-season meets during the 2020-21 indoor season.
Kosel is the only EOU athlete that is entered in multiple events as he is slated to compete in both the long jump and triple jump at Indoor Nationals. He is ranked fourth in the triple jump with a mark of 47-11 that he hit this past weekend at the Polar Vortex Classic in Caldwell, Idaho. In the long jump, Kosel is seeded eighth with a leap of 23-6. His mark in the long jump was posted back on Feb. 5 at the C of Icebreaker. His triple jump mark is second best in EOU history for indoor and his long jump mark ranks third. Both his marks are the best in the West Region.
Devers will run in the 200-meter dash at the national meet and is just one of two EOU sprinters competing at Indoor Nationals for the Mounties. She is seeded fifth overall for the event with a time of 24.62. Her time was posted back in early February at the Icebreaker. Devers’ 200 time is also now the fastest time in program history for the indoor season.
The 2021 NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships will take place March 3-6 in Yankton, S.D. Athletes and Coaches that were selected for the regional awards will be honored at the national meet. To read the full USTFCCCA release, click the link above.
