NEW ORLEANS — All-American Taliyah Brooks was named the 2018 NCAA South Central Region Field-Athlete of the Year by the USTFCCCA for her performances this season in the long jump and pentathlon.
Brooks was joined in regional recognition by Arkansas coach Lance Harter and associate coach Chris Johnson who swept the NCAA South Central Region Coach and Assistant Coach top awards.
The trio last dominated the South Central Region honors together during the 2017 NCAA outdoor season.
No. 2 x Two
A two-time NCAA runner-up in the pentathlon and 2017 finalist in the NCAA indoor long jump, Brooks heads into her final NCAA Indoor Championships positioned to attain gold in both.
The Wichita Falls, Texas, native currently sits at No. 2 in the NCAA standings in both the pentathlon and the long jump off a season best in the former (4,422 points) at the SEC Indoor Championships and a PR and program record in the latter (6.57m/21-6¾) at the Tyson Invitational.
Razorback Leadership
Excepting Brooks and senior leader Nikki Hiltz, Harter, Johnson and assistant coach Bryan Compton managed to maintain Arkansas’ potency following the loss of exceptional performers, primarily through the strength of juniors and underclassmen.
The trio guided Arkansas to its 12th-consecutive Southeastern Conference title, not only winning the championships, but doing so decisively by a 23.5 point margin.
Harter coached Hiltz to an SEC gold medal in the mile while Johnson did the same for Brooks in the pentathlon.
Arkansas will open up competition at the indoor national meet with the pentathlon 60-meter hurdles on Friday, March 9 at 12:15 p.m.
