Men's Cross Country/Track & Field Wins NJCAA Program of the Year

NEW ORLEANS - For the 1st time in school history, Iowa Western has won the NJCAA Men's Program of the Year as announced by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

The USTFCCCA Program of the Year Award is awarded annually to the most outstanding cross country/track & field programs in each of the NCAA's three divisions, the NAIA, and the NJCAA for each gender in those levels. The award honors the institution that has achieved the most success in each academic year (spanning the cross country, indoor track & field, and outdoor track & field seasons) based on the institution's finish at their respective national championships.

This past season, the Reivers won the half marathon, finished as the national runner-up in cross country, and took home of pair of third-place finishes with indoor and outdoor track & field.

"This is a huge accomplishment for our program," said Track & Field Head Coach David Burnett. "It shows the collaborative effort of our student athletes in all event disciplines and the coaching staff."

To be eligible for the award, teams must qualify for each of the championships meets and the scoring is based on the team's finish in cross country, and indoor and outdoor tack & field, (1st = 1 point, 2nd = 2 points … 31st = 31 points) with the lowest total score for all three championships combined determining the award winner. Ties among schools split points for positions taken.

This is just the third season that the USTFCCCA has recognized the NJCAA with a Program of the Year award; both Iowa Western's men's and women's programs finished second in the USTFCCCA NJCAA Program of the Year standings last season.

The full release from USTFCCCA can be found here.