BATON ROUGE — LSU head coach Dennis Shaver continues to show why he is considered one of the premier head coaches in all of collegiate track and field as he was named the Southeastern Conference Women’s Coach of the Year by the league office Monday.
Shaver guided both the LSU men’s and women’s teams to a national runner-up finish at the 2007 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Sacramento, Calif., this past weekend for the best combined finish of any program at the meet.
Six Lady Tigers earned individual All-America honors at the national meet, while senior Sherry Fletcher won an NCAA title in the 100-meter dash and the women’s 4×400-meter relay wrapped up the competition by successfully defending its national title from a year ago.
Shaver also guided the Lady Tigers to their first SEC outdoor title since 1996 as the team blew away the competition with 139.5 points at the SEC meet. The LSU women also defended their NCAA Mideast Regional title as they have now won the team title four times in five years.
For his efforts, Shaver has also been named the Co-Women’s Coach of the Year in the South Central district and Women’s Coach of the Year in the Mideast Region by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association for the 2007 season.
SEC OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD POSTSEASON AWARDS
Women’s
Coach of the Year
Dennis Shaver, LSU
Runner of the Year
Kerron Stewart, Auburn
Field Event Athlete of the Year
Brittney Reese, Ole Miss
Freshman Runner of the Year
Nia Ali, Tennessee
Freshman Field Event Athlete of the Year
Mariam Kevkhishvili, Florida
Co-Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Natasha Hastings, South Carolina
Natalie Picchetti, Georgia
Men’s
Coach of the Year
Bill Webb, Tennessee
Runner of the Year
Barnabas Kirui, Ole Miss
Field Event Athlete of the Year
Cory Martin, Auburn
Freshman Runner of the Year
Calvin Smith, Florida
Freshman Field Event Athlete of the Year
Mike Morrison, Florida
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Donald Thomas, Auburn