Lananna Named USTFCCCA Southeastern Region Men's Coach of the Year
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced its final update for the NCAA Division I Program of the Year standings. The Cavalier men checked in at No.10 and the women check in at No.18 while Head Coach Vin Lananna earned Southeast Region Men’s Coach of the Year honors.
The USTFCCCA Program of the Year 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 the NCAA Championships. To be eligible for the award, teams must qualify for each of the NCAA Championships. Points are accumulated based on combined placement among the championships with the lowest score winning the award.
- The Virginia men equaled their finish from a year ago coming at No.10 in the Program of the Year poll. Last season marked the best finish since a fourth place ranking in 2016-17.
- The team finished eighth at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships with a total of 26 points for the third-highest finish at the championships in program history. The Cavaliers’ 26 points also ranks second-most at the NCAA meet in Virginia history.
- The Cavaliers placed 22nd at the NCAA Cross Country Championships after a third place finish at the ACC Championships.
- Virginia tied for 36th at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships after finishing fifth at the ACC Indoor Championships.
- The Virginia men finished as the second highest ACC team in the rankings, just behind UNC.
- The Cavalier women check in at No.18 in the Program of the Year rankings.
- Virginia’s women placed 40th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships scoring five points.
- The Cavaliers finished third at the ACC Outdoor championships tallying 74 points.
- The women recorded a 15th place finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships after a third place finish at the ACC Championships.
- Virginia tied for 38th at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships after finishing seventh at the ACC Indoor Championships.
- The Virginia women placed higher than any other ACC team in the final standings.
Following the conclusion of the outdoor track and field season, Virginia Head Coach Vin Lananna received USTFCCCA Southeast Region Men’s Coach of the Year. While he has garnered West Region Men’s Coach of the Year honors in his career, this marks his first Southeast Region Track honors while at Virginia.Lananna, in his fifth year as Director of Track and Field and Cross Country/Associate Athletics Director at Virginia, led the Cavalier men to the first ACC Championship men’s team title outright in program history scoring a total 107 points. The distance men accounted for 69 of the team’s 107 total points while the team accumulated a total of 10 medals. Nate Mountain won back-to-back ACC gold medals in the 3000m steeplechase followed by teammate Yasin Sado in second place. This marked the second consecutive year in which Virginia went 1-2 in the 3000m steeplechase at the outdoor conference championships. Gary Martin and Wes Porter earned silver and bronze in the 1500 meters while Shane Cohen secured the bronze in the 800 meters. The Cavalier men totaled 11 All-ACC honorees in nine separate events.
At the NCAA Outdoor Championships, the Virginia men qualified eight athletes in six events in route to an eighth-place finish in the team standings with a total 26 points. Lananna led the team to post the third-highest finish at the Outdoor NCAA meet in program history, in which Virginia finished higher than any other ACC team at the NCAA Championships for the second consecutive year. Lananna adds another NCAA Champion to his resume, as Shane Cohen demolished the field with 120 meters remaining to win the 800-meter NCAA title.
The Cavalier men totaled five First-Team All-American honors and three Honorable Mentions. First Team All-American’s include Shane Cohen, Jacob Lemmon, Nate Mountain, Wes Porter and Yasin Sado. Honorable Mention includes Will Anthony, Gary Martin and John Fay.