2020 USTFCCCA Indoor Regional Award Winners

NEW ORLEANS – Approaching the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field National Championships, Academy of Art's Steve Fuelling was honored as West Region Men's Indoor Track & Field Assistant Coach of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Friday.

"This is a huge and well-deserved honor for Coach Fuelling," said director of track & field/cross country Kevin LaSure. "Our men's distance runners have really led us this indoor season and that's a true testament to the work Steve has put in with them and what he's been able to get out of that group in return. It's always great to be recognized for your hard work and Steve really earned this award. What he has done with our distance program this year is amazing and I believe the best is yet to come."

Helping the Academy of Art men's team rise to second in the West Region rankings leading up to Indoor Nationals, Fuelling's distance crew has accounted for seven of the program's 10 Nationals provisional qualifiers. Highlighting those standout marks is the region's best mile (a program record 4:04.14 run by James Young) and Distance Medley Relay (another program record 9:50.24 run by Charlie Messai, Kaze Poitier, Rabah Houali, and Young). The team also broke a school record in the 4x800m relay.

This is the first West Region Indoor Assistant Coach of the Year in Fuelling's career.

Many of the honored athletes and coaches will be in competition at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships coming up next weekend, March 13-14, in Birmingham, Alabama at the Birmingham Crossplex. Portions of the meet will be streamed online live at NCAA.org and more information can be found at the USTFCCCA's National Championships Central page.