Johnson also continued to develop his elite group of multis, producing two 6,000-point scorers in Brooks and Payton Stumbaugh as well as guiding Leigha Brown and Kelsey Herman into the NCAA top eight.Īlong with the 400 and multis, Johnson managed to make Arkansas relevant in the short sprints through 100-meter NCAA qualifiers freshman Jada Baylark and sophomore Kiara Parker. Olympian Taylor Ellis-Watson, emerging as the No. Senior sprinter Daina Harper was quick to fill the void of U.S. With several of his top athletes graduating in 2016, Johnson never missed a beat in transitioning his younger runners to leadership roles. The 2017 regional award is the 10th for the sprints, hurdles and combined events specialist. Harter also developed two of the top middle distance runners in the country in Oregon transfers Therese Haiss and Nikki Hiltz.Ĭurrently in his fifth season with the Razorbacks, Johnson’s event group has been instrumental in Arkansas’ capture of two national titles and a multitude of conference crowns. Of the 17 qualifiers on Harter’s squad, three are freshmen, including 5,000-meter pair Abby Gray and Taylor Werner. His team followed their exceptional SEC performance with a phenomenal outing at the NCAA West Preliminary Round, which produced 17 final site NCAA qualifiers. Harter recently guided the Razorbacks to their 10th-consecutive Southeastern Conference title and third consecutive league Triple Crown. This year mark the fourth time in a row that he has been tabbed as the South Central Region’s top coach for the outdoor season.

Since his arrival in Fayetteville in 1990, Harter’s Hogs have been a force to be reckoned with during the cross country, indoor and outdoor seasons. The USTFCCCA announced the Division I regional honorees on Sunday afternoon in advance of the upcoming 2017 NCAA Outdoor Championships, slated to begin on Wednesday, June 7.

In addition to Harter and Johnson, redshirt junior heptathlete Taliyah Brooks has been named the NCAA South Central Region Field Athlete of the Year. NEW ORLEANS – For the second-consecutive year, the USTFCCCA has selected Arkansas women’s track and field head coach Lance Harter and associate head coach Chris Johnson as the NCAA South Central Region Coach and Assistant Coach of the Year, respectively.

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