FORMER Jamaican junior representatives Shakwon Coke and Nia Robinson, both of Barton Community College, were earlier this week named the National Junior College Athletics Association (NJCAA) National male and female field events athlete of the year, respectively, for the 2022 NJCAA Indoor Track & Field season.

Coke retained his men’s long jump title at the NJCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships last weekend while, despite not winning any of her three events, Robinson scored 20 points.

Both were also named field events athletes of the year for the Central Region, while Jamaican Kimeone McLeod of New Mexico Junior College was named the West Region Female Track Athlete of the Year.

Former Vere Technical athlete Shellene Williams of Iowa Central Community College was named Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year for the Midwest Region.

Coke, the former Kingston College athlete, scored 18 points at the NJCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. He won the long jump with a personal best 7.83m, tying for seventh-best mark all times in NJCAA history and the farthest since 2002.

Coke’s win also made him the first-ever three-time NJCAA champion, having won titles in 2020 and 2021. In addition to his long jump achievement, Coke was runner-up at the NJCAA Indoor meet in the triple jump with a seasonal best of 15.53m.

Robinson, the former Rusea’s High athlete, set season-best efforts in three jumps to score 20 points, taking the runner-up spot in the long jump (6.19m), triple jump (12.60m) and fifth place in the high jump (1.70m).

Former St Jago High hurdler McLeod is ranked number one in the 60m hurdles with 8.37 seconds, a mark that hailed as the sixth-fastest performance in NJCAA history.

Williams, who is in her second year as associate head coach at Iowa Western CC, led two of her “Reivers” athletes — both Jamaicans and former Vere Technical students Nickisha Pryce and Terresha Walcott — to top three national rankings. Pryce excelled in the 200 and 400, while Terresha Walcott stood out in the 60m.

Williams’ sprint crew amassed 64 of the team’s 251 points in winning the team title at the Region XI Indoor Championships.