KIMBERLY Williams of Florida State University and Keiron Stewart of University of Texas at Austin snapped up the South Region Women’s Field Athlete of the Year and the South Central Region Men’s Track Athlete of the Year for the 2011 NCAA Division One Indoor season, the US Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced on Monday.

The 22-year-old Williams, the Central American and Caribbean Games triple jump champion, “netted impressive performances in both long and triple jumps at the ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) Championships,” noted the USTFCCCA.

“In becoming the first in ACC Championship history to win an event for a fourth time, Williams triple-jumped to a collegiate-leading mark of 45-93/4 (13.96m).

“In addition, the previous day Williams won the ACC long jump title with a leap of 21-6 (6.55m) — a performance that ranks No 2 in the NCAA this year.”

Williams, who attended Vere Technical, will seek to defend her triple jump crown for an unprecedented third time and better her fifth place in the long jump at the NCAA Division One Indoor Championships on March 11-12 at College Station, Texas.

Meanwhile, 21-year-old Stewart, who attended Kingston College, took the Big 12 Indoor 60m hurdles gold in a personal best 7.66 seconds and will contend with compatriot Andrew Riley of University of Illinois to become the first Jamaican to win sprint hurdles in the championships.

“The time was also a new school record,” according to the USTFCCCA, with sophomore Stewart recording “NCAA automatic-qualifying marks in the sprint hurdles three times during the 2011 indoor campaign and has shown his versatility by also competing as a member of the Longhorns’ 17th-ranked 4×400-metre relay”.

A World Junior Championship bronze medallist, Stewart failed to advance to the final at last year’s Indoor Championships.