Pitt State’s Kiner named Central Region Field Athlete of the Year – KOAM

LJ Kiner completed top-3 in each lengthy leap and triple leap at outside nationals.

PITTSBURG, Kan. – Pittsburg State males’s observe and discipline has earned three awards from the USTFCCCA

Junior LJ Kiner is the Central Area Out of doors Area Athlete of the Yr.

Kiner completed third within the lengthy leap at outside nationals, with a finest leap of 25 ft, 4 inches. He took 2nd within the triple leap at nationals with a leap of 52 ft.

“He’s a particular expertise, not solely as an individual however…my gosh, that man is a freak athlete. He actually is proficient,” says Pitt State head coach Kyle Rutledge about Kiner, “What he did at nationals within the lengthy leap, after which within the 4X100m in the course of the triple leap…he’s all the time simply competing and staying targeted and doing what he has to do for the workforce. He’s going to USA competitions right here in a pair weeks and he’s going to carry out properly there. He’s going to get that have and know what he has to do to go to that subsequent stage.”

Along with Kiner incomes the dignity, Rutledge has been named Central Area Out of doors Coach of the Yr – and his assistant, Jason Crow, has been named the Central Area Assistant Coach of the Yr.

These two helped lead the Gorilla males to their first ever outside nationwide championship, which included two particular person nationwide champions and 13 All-Individuals.

“It means an excellent deal that your friends truly respect what you do,” Rutledge says, “It means quite a bit to our youngsters. They’re doing an excellent job and so they’re being revered by different coaches. Coach Crow has finished an exceptional job. For him to get that accolade, it simply means quite a bit. We’re doing issues the appropriate manner right here and our friends respect us.”

FULL RELEASE FROM PITTSBURG STATE ATHLETICS:

Pittsburg State College head observe & discipline coach Kyle Rutledge was named the NCAA Division II Central Area Coach of the Yr for males’s oudoor observe & discipline Monday (June 6), whereas assistant coach Jason Crow acquired Central Regional Assistant Coach of the Yr for males’s outside observe & discipline. Junior L.J. Kiner additionally was chosen the Central Area Area Athlete of the Yr for males’s outside observe & discipline.

Rutledge, in his tenth yr at Pittsburg State (his first yr as head coach), led the Gorillas to their first outside nationwide title in program historical past on the NCAA Division II Out of doors Monitor & Area Championships with 70 factors. Underneath Rutledge’s path, the Gorillas had nationwide champions within the 110-meter hurdles (Louis Rollins) and the 400 meters (Braylen Brewer), whereas 13 totally different athletes earned first-team All-America honors. Pittsburg State additionally gained the MIAA Out of doors Championships with 169 factors and posted 14 All-MIAA finishes. Rutledge’s athletes broke seven faculty data in the course of the outside season.

Crow, in his second yr as assistant coach at Pittsburg State, coached the Gorillas dash/hurdle group to attain 38 of the workforce’s 70 factors in profitable the workforce title on the NCAA Division II Out of doors Monitor & Area Championships. His athletes gained titles within the 400 (Brewer) and 110 hurdles (Rollins) and added a second within the 4×400 relay, third within the 110 hurdles (T.J. Caldwell) and fifth within the 4×100 relay. His dash crew scored 55 factors on the MIAA Out of doors Championships, serving to Pittsburg State to the workforce title.

Kiner, who hails from Humble, Texas, completed top-3 on the NCAA DII Out of doors Monitor & Area Championships in each the triple leap (second) and lengthy leap (third). He gained the triple leap on the MIAA Out of doors Championships and positioned fourth within the lengthy leap. Kiner entered the NCAA postseason because the nation’s top-ranked athlete within the triple leap with an effort of 16.36m (53-8¼).

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