Montgomery, Lyles Earn Regional Honors
6/6/2016 5:51:00 PM | Track & Field
EUGENE, Ore. - Two Tigers were recognized by the USTFCCCA (U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association) on Monday (June 6), as freshman Kahmari Montgomery was named the Track Athlete of the Year and Coach Carjay Lyles earned recognition as Assistant Coach of the Year for the Midwest Region. The awards come after a series of historical weeks for Mizzou Track & Field and in the final days before the start of NCAA Championship competition in Eugene, Oregon.
For Montgomery, this honor is yet another addition to an already-impressive resume, as the freshmnan approaches the final stages of his historical debut year. His indoor and outdoor seasons both followed much the same path, starting relatively quiet but ending with SEC titles, school records, and top 20 world rankings in the 400m dash.
Montgomery's 45.78 indoor performance that earned him the conference championship, school record and No. 8 ranking in the world was left in the dust during his title run during the outdoor SEC Championships in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. There, he cruised to a 45.13 school record, putting him into the No. 2 position in the NCAA rankings and No. 18 in the world. For that, he was named the 2016 SEC Freshman Track Athlete of the Year and, now, the 2016 Midwest Regional Track Athlete of the Year.
It is much the same story for Lyles, as he was named the 2016 Midwest Assistant Coach of the Year after leading a record book rewrite in the sprints throughout his third year with the program. This is the second time Lyles has earned the award, as he was named the 2013 Assistant Coach of the Year for the West Region while at San Diego State University.
Between both the indoor and outdoor season, Lyles' guided his athletes to a total of 19 school record performances, including two top 20 world ranked 400m dash records from Montgomery. A bulk of those records, though, emerged from the women's sprints group, led by junior LaQuisha Jackson, who ran top times in school history for both the indoor and outdoor 200m dash while also remaining a consistent member on both of the indoor 4x400m record teams and all six of the outdoor 4x400m record teams. Joining her on all six of those record squads was junior Valerie Thames, who also ran a series of individual records in both the 100m and 400m hurdles during the outdoor season.
The women's 4x100m also topped the previous school record on several occassions during the outdoor season, with the foursome of Jackson, freshman Maya Cody, junior Sandrae Farquharson, and senior Alyssa Felton holding the current record at 44.40.
The historical season will continue for Lyles this week as nine of his athletes prepare for NCAA Championship competition in Eugene, Oregon. Included in that number is No. 2 ranked Kahmari Montgomery (400m dash), No. 7 ranked Markesh Woodson (100m dash), triple jump specialists John Warren and Tony Carodine, juniors Sandrae Farquharson (400m dash) and Valerie Thames (100m hurdles), and the first women's 4x100m and 4x400m relays to advance into the national championship meet since the 1980s.
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