ABILENE – ACU head track and field coach Roosevelt Lofton has been named the NCAA Division II National Indoor Men's Coach of the Year for 2011.
The award was announced by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association after Roosevelt coached ACU's four entrants in the NCAA Division II indoor track and field meet to the team national championship. The Wildcats' 56th NCAA team national championship (53rd in track and field) was Lofton's first as a head coach and made him the sixth ACU track coach to win a national championship.
Lofton's Wildcats entered the NCAA Indoor Championships as the fifth-ranked team and had just four entries compared to runner-up Ashland's 22. ACU won the men's national team title with 49 points – the lowest-winning point total in NCAA D-II indoor history and extended their record to 13 men's NCAA D-II indoor crowns. Ashland claimed runner-up in the team race with 42 while defending champion Lincoln (Mo.) placed third with 41 and Central Missouri placed fourth with 36.5.
For Abilene Christian, senior
Amos Sang won the 5000-meter title and added second-place points in the mile. Senior
Ramon Sparks won his second-straight triple jump crown.
Desmond Jackson was runner-up in both the 60 and 200. And, junior
Nick Jones added into the fun with a fourth-place finish.
