DES MOINES, Iowa – Aggie sophomore sprinter Prezel Hardy, Jr. and Texas A&M head coach Pat Henry were both recognized for honors within the South Central Region. Hardy was named men’s Track Athlete of the Year while Henry was selected as men’s Coach of the Year.
The region athlete of the year and coach of the year awards were announced by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Monday as voted upon by the Division I coaches covering the outdoor track and field season.
Hardy claimed a Big 12 triple this season winning the 100 and 200 while anchoring the 4 x 100 to victory. He posted career best times of 10.03 (wind-aided) and 20.33 for the conference sprint titles while the Aggies won the sprint relay in 39.00 seconds.
The achievements by Hardy earned high point honors at the Big 12 meet as he totaled 22.5 points. Then on voting by the league coaches Hardy was selected as the Big 12 Outdoor Performer of the Year.
For the NCAA West preliminary rounds Hardy was the top seed in both the 100 and 200 while the 4 x 100 also secured the top seed. Hardy advanced to the NCAA Championships in all three events he contested and formcharts from Track & Field News have Hardy scoring in all three for the Aggies.
Last year Hardy placed third in both the 100 and 200 at the Big 12 meet and went on to place eighth in the 100 final at the NCAA Championships while the 4 x 100 unit won the Big 12 title and finished second in the NCAA final.
Coach Henry claimed a second consecutive sweep of the men’s Big 12 team titles for both the indoor and outdoor seasons in 2012. The Aggies totaled eight victories in winning the conference outdoor title with 150 points and defeating Texas by 19 points. In 2011 A&M set a conference record of 175 points.
Texas A&M became the first school in the Big 12 to claim wins in all five of the sprint and relay events – 100, 200, 400, 4x100, 4x400. Other wins were attained in the 110 hurdles, steeplechase and javelin.
Following their conference performance the Aggies became the No. 1 team in the national computer rankings and has held that status through the preliminary rounds of the NCAA Championships.
CoSIDA Academic All-District honor for Will Barry
Texas A&M senior Will Barry, of Texarkana, Texas, was one of 10 athletes to earn Academic All-District honors in District 7 from CoSIDA, the collegiate sports information organization.
Barry maintained a 4.0 grade point average in civil engineering throughout his athletic career with the Aggies. He was accepted into graduate school for civil engineering by Stanford, Texas A&M and Texas.
During the indoor track and field season Barry received the Elite 89 award for having the top GPA among entrants at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
In earning an Academic All-District honor, Barry is now eligible for the Academic All-American ballot.
