NEW ORLEANS, La. (5/23/16) – After winning the men's Sun Belt championship earlier this month, Arkansas State won four of the eight Outdoor Track & Field Awards handed out by the Sun Belt Conference on Monday. The awards were voted on by the league's 11 head coaches.

A-State head coach Jim Patchell was named the Men's Track and Field Coach of the Year as he led the team to the first outdoor championship since 2005. The Red Wolves posted 149.50 points to claim the championship by 11.5 points over South Alabama (138).

Jaylen Bacon and Kristina Knott earned the Sun Belt Most Outstanding Athlete Award. Bacon was the high point scorer on the men's side taking gold medals in the 100 (10.25) and 200-meter dash (20.75) and running on the relay squads for the Red Wolves. Knott, the high point scorer on the women's side with 27.5 points, took gold medals in the 100 (11.44) and 200-meter dash (23.30) along with fourth place finishes in the 4x100 and 4x400-meter relays.

Roelf Pienaar was honored as the Most Outstanding Field Performer winning gold medals in the long jump (7.87m/25-10.00) and triple jump (15.88m/52-01.25). The pair of gold medals give Pienaar nine in his three year career at A-State, winning all six triple jump competitions and three long jump titles.  

A-State had 10 men and six women combine for 22 top-three finishes in their event to earn All-Conference honors. Jaylen Bacon (100m/200m), Sam Bell (pole vault), Itamar Levi (shot put/discus throw), Wil Norris (10,000-meter), David Phillips (decathlon), Roelf Pienaar (long jump, triple jump), Cristian Ravar Ladislau (hammer throw), Tiaan Steenkamp (high jump) and the 4x100-meter relay team (Bacon, Pienaar, Elijah Ross and Henry Offiah) earned all-conference honors on the men's side. For the women, Shemiah Brooks (100m hurdles/triple jump), Erin Farmer (shot put), Kristina Knott (100m/200m), Darragh May (high jump), Keturah Smith (400m) and Samone Thompson (100m hurdles/400m hurdles/heptathlon) earned the all-conference distinction.

A total of 14 entrants will compete at the NCAA West Region Preliminaries May 27-29 at the University of Kansas. The 14 entrants are the second-most in program history and the 19 events represent a program record.

Kristina Knott (100m/200m), Keturah Smith (400m), Ivery Guyton (high jump), Shemiah Brooks (100m hurdles/triple jump), Erin Farmer (shot put) and Calea Carr (discus throw) have qualified for the women's meet while Jaylen Bacon (100m/200m), Jamil Peeples (110m hurdles), Wil Norris (3,000m steeplechase), Tiaan Steenkamp (high jump), Sam Bell (pole vault), Roelf Pienaar (long jump/triple jump), Itamar Levi (shot put/discus throw) and Cristian Ravar Ladislau will compete on the men's side.

Fans can follow Arkansas State track and field on Twitter (@AStateTrack) to receive the latest information and team updates. Meet results and notables will be available via Twitter (@AStateGameday) as well.