The Pacific West Conference had dozens of All-Americans over three days at the NCAA Division II National Track and Field Championships, in addition to a number of outstanding performances at the conference championships and throughout the 2024 season.
That made the job of selecting the 2024 track and field awards all the much more difficult for the conference coaches. The votes were close, and when all was said and done, athletes and coaches representing five PacWest Conference schools earned special awards.
Jack Hoyt, the leader of double PacWest champ
Azusa Pacific, earned the Coach of the Year awards for both men and women. In both, the Cougars won their eighth consecutive conference titles. For the men, the Cougars had seven individual PacWest titles and went on to its highest placing at the NCAA National Championships with a sixth place showing. APU had a national champion in
Jermel Jones (long jump) on the men’s side, and in the same event for women had a gold medalist in
Nicole Warwick. The Cougars had four PacWest women’s gold medalists, and went on to finish third at the NCAA National Championships.
The aforementioned
Nicole Warwick was selected as the PacWest Field Athlete of the Year. Warwick not only won the national title in the long jump, she smashed all records related to that event. Her leap of 22-4 ¼ was a NCAA Division II record, a championship meet record, a facility record and an APU school mark. Additionally, although she didn’t compete in the NCAA heptathlon, she had the No.1 point total in D2 for the 2024 year with 5,927 points, the second highest tally all-time in Division II. The senior from Modesto, Calif. ranked No. 1 the west region in the long jump, No. 10 in the javelin, No. 13 in the shot put and No. 17 in the high jump.
Track Athlete of the Year
Lauryn James of
Academy of Art was also the PacWest Championship Track Athlete of the Meet. In Santa Barbara, James won the 200 meters (23.51), was second in the 100 meters and her Urban Knight 4x400 relay team was the conference champions. She scored a total of 22.5 points. At the NCAA's in Kansas, she was a three-time All-American, placing in the 100 meters and on both relay squads. The grad transfer from Charleston Southern leaves ART U with the second fastest 100 meters in school history (11.40), along with the third fastest 200 (23.31) and 400 (54.32) meter times.
The Freshman Track Athlete of the Year award went to
ART U’s Toni-Ann Lindsay.. Lindsay was on the Urban Knights’ PacWest champion 4x400 relay team, and she also finished fourth at the PacWest meet in the 100 meters and was fifth in the 200 meters. At the NCAA Championships, her 4x100 relay squad earned First Team All-American honors with a fourth place finish, and ART U’s 4x400 team claimed Second Team A-A laurels (ninth place). The Jamaica native had season bests of 11.57 in the 100 meters, 24.16 in the 200, and 55.83 in the 400 meters.
The Field Athlete of the Year is
Concordia’s Giovana Pelascini. The first-year collegian won the PacWest title in the seven-event heptathlon with 4,697 points. She broke the Concordia school record in the heptathlon three different times during the course of the season. The Camarillo, Calif. native notched a provisional qualifier with her heptathlon total, and also ranked ninth in the conference in the 100 hurdles (14.83).
APU Cougar
Jermel Jones won the national title in the long jump and is the Field Athlete of the Year. Like his female counterpart Warwick, Jones broke the APU school record, the facility mark and the NCAA championship meet record with a leap of 26-10. The senior from Los Angeles also won three events at the PacWest Championships to help the Cougars win their eighth straight title, and at the end of the season was ranked No. 1 in the west region in the long jump, was third in the high jump and eighth in the triple jump.
Co-Track Athlete of the Year
Shareez Hamm of
Academy of Art won the NCAA National Championship in the 400 hurdles. His time of 49.97 ranks second all-time at ART U. He was a two-time All-American in 2024 by helping to lead his Urban Knight team to a fourth place finish in the 4x400 relay with the second fastest time in school history. The former Highland CC transfer won PacWest championships in the 4x100 relay and the 4x400 relay, while also taking third in the 400 hurdles.
Hamm shared the award with
Shemar Palmer of
Fresno Pacific. The sophomore won the silver medal the NCAA Championships in the 400 meters with a time of 45.73 and was fourth in the 200 meters in 20.67. The Sunbirds’ 4x400 relay team earned All-American honors with a seventh place finish. Just two years into his collegiate career, Palmer owns FPU school records in the 200, 400 and 4x400. The Jamaican was also named the PacWest Conference Track Athlete of the Meet after winning the 200 meters and 400 meters, and the Sunbird relay team was second.
Biola’s Donovan Tommy was voted in as the Freshman Track Athlete of the Year. The newcomer from Hollister, Calif. finished fourth at the PacWest Championships in the 100 meters and was seventh in the 200. He had a season best in the 100 of 10.54 and in the 200 of 21.64. The mark in the 100 was the fifth fastest time in the conference this season.
The Freshman Field Athlete of the Year is
Concordia’s Trey Vergenz. The Golden Eagle thrower scored 26 points at the PacWest Championships, winning the discus and finishing second in the hammer and shot put. He earned NCAA provisional marks in the throwing events, the first CUI athlete to do so since 2019. The San Marcos native had season bests in the shot put of 51-10, discus 167-2 and hammer 161-5.
| 2024 ALL-PACWEST MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD AWARDS |
| Co-Track Athlete of the Year |
Shareez Hamm |
Academy of Art |
| Co-Track Athlete of the Year |
Shemar Palmer |
Fresno Pacific |
| Field Athlete of the Year |
Jermel Jones |
Azusa Pacific |
| Track Freshman of the Year |
Donovan Tommy |
Biola |
| Field Freshman of the Year |
Trey Vergenz |
Concordia |
| Coach of the Year |
Jack Hoyt |
Azusa Pacific |
| 2024 ALL-PACWEST WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD AWARDS |
| Track Athlete of the Year |
Lauryn James |
Academy of Art |
| Field Athlete of the Year |
Nicole Warwick |
Azusa Pacific |
| Track Freshman of the Year |
Toni-Ann Lindsay |
Academy of Art |
| Field Freshman of the Year |
Giovana Pelascini |
Concordia |
| Coach of the Year |
Jack Hoyt |
Azusa Pacific |