FRISCO, Texas – Northwestern State’s Sanaria Butler and UIW’s Kyle Sieracki are the 2024 Southland Conference Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track & Field Athletes of the Year, the league announced Thursday. Alongside the superlative awards, the conference also announced its indoor all-conference rosters.
Both Butler and Sieracki claimed Athlete of the Year and Outstanding Field Events Performer honors after great performances at the SLC Championships.
UIW’s Dr. Derek Riedel repeated as the Southland Indoor Track & Field Men’s Coach of the Year after leading the Cardinals to 109 points and their third indoor team title in a row.
Northwestern State head coach Mike Heimerman was named the Women’s Coach of the Year after. He led the Lady Demons to their second consecutive conference indoor title with 170 points, outscoring the runner-up team by 57 points.
Southland Conference Indoor Track & Field superlative awards are nominated and voted upon by the league’s head coaches. Voting for oneself or one’s own athletes is not permitted. All-conference distinction is given to the first, second and third-place finishers in each championship event final.
Men’s Tri-Outstanding Field Events Performer:
Kyle Sieracki, UIW
Sieracki earned a first-place finish in the heptathlon with 5,370 points and a first-place finish in the pole vault at 5.05m. Sieracki also placed fifth in the 60m hurdles at 8.37 to help solidify the UIW lead.
Kenson Tate, Lamar
Tate scored 14 points for the Demons in Birmingham, 10 of those coming from his gold medal in the Long Jump. He put up a mark of 7.87m to put him on the podium.
Djimon Gumbs, Northwestern State
Gumbs grabbed first place in the shot put with a personal best of 19.35m. He added 10 points to the Demons total of 104, just 5 points behind first place.
Men’s Newcomer of the Year & Outstanding Running Events Performer – Keontae Gaines, Northwestern State
Gaines showed up and showed out, winning the 60-meter dash at 6.68 and the 200-meter dash at 20.72. His 200 time was a new SLC Meet Record.
Men’s Co-Freshman of the Year:
Tim Pelkmans, Northwestern State
Pelkmans tallied 5262 in the Heptathlon in Birmingham. That earned him the Silver in the event & contributed 8 points to the Demons 104 point total.
Alex Martin, McNeese
Martin grabbed the second place spot in the 800m finals with a time of 1:52.62, just .27 seconds behind the champion. He also helped the Cowboys DMR to a fourth place finish.
Athlete of the Year - Kyle Sieracki, UIW
Sieracki earned a first-place finish in the heptathlon with 5,370 points and a first-place finish in the pole vault at 5.05m. Sieracki also placed fifth in the 60m hurdles at 8.37 to help solidify the UIW lead.
Men’s Coach of the Year – Derek Riedel, UIW
Dr. Riedel was named the Men’s Coach of the Year after leading the Cardinals to their third consecutive Southland Indoor Track & Field Title with 109 points.
Women’s Athlete of the Year and Outstanding Field Events Performer – Sanaria Butler, Northwestern State
Sarania Butler led the Demons with an incredible performace at the conference meet, scoring 30.5 points, including a 400-meter victory at 53.52 and a 4x400 victory at 3:42.49. She placed second in the long jump (5.93m), third in the triple jump (12.05m), and fifth in the 200-meter dash (24.18) to round out an incredible meet.
Women’s Outstanding Running Events Performer – Alex Weir, UNO
Weir stayed on the podium in Birmingham earning two gold medals in the mile (5:01.12) & in the DMR (11:37.4). She also finished thrid in the 3000m (10:07.01)
Women’s Freshman of the Year – Ashton Rainey, Lamar
Rainey added to the Privateers' total in the Women's 5000m run. She finished in the seven spot with a time of 18:15.02.
Women’s Newcomer of the Year – Sophia Wolf, UNO
Wolf ran home from the conference mee with two gold medals. In the 800m she ran a 2:10.45 and she also contributed to the Privateers' DMR victor (11:47.4).
Women’s Coach of the Year – Mike Heimerman, Northwestern State
Heimerman was named the Women’s Coach of the Year after he led the Lady Demons to their second conference indoor title with 170 points.
2024 Southland Conference Men’s Indoor Track & Field All-Conference Teams
| Event |
First |
Second |
Third |
| 60m |
Keontae Gaines, NSU |
Ibrahim Fuseini, TAMUC |
Madonna Favaour, UNO |
| 60m Hurdles |
Jorim Bangue, UNO |
Isaiah Hudgens, UIW |
Zayden Davis, TAMUC |
| 200m |
Keontae Gaines, NSU |
Ibrahim, Fuseini, TAMUC |
Mikkel Johansson, NSU |
| 400m |
Jalon White, McNeese |
Cameron Chin, Lamar |
Ondray Miles, Lamar |
| 800m |
Baptiste Depril-Dupre, UNO |
Alex Martin, McNeese |
Krzysztof Turski, HCU |
| Mile |
Alex Piquart, HCU |
Freddy Richardson, Lamar |
Omer El-Fadl, McNeese |
| 3,000m |
Matthew Hansen, UNO |
Dennis Kipngeno, AMUCC |
Justice Artisst, HCU |
| 5,000m |
Dennis Kipngeno, AMCC |
Kelvin Kimaiyo, AMCC |
Justice Artisst, HCU |
| 4x400m |
Samuel Gray, Jaden Powell, Ondray Miles, Jalon White - McNeese |
Jaylon Roberts, Ethan Ellis, Christian Johnson, Trent Guidry - Lamar |
Corin Burns, Ikenna Opara, Thomas Gignoux, Eric Quilantan - UIW |
| DMR |
Krzysztof Turski, Mark Ngei, Albin Wallenius, Alex Piquart - HCU |
Geovany Cisneros, Chrsitian Johnson, Ryan Servantes, Freddy Richardson - Lamar |
Enock Kimutai, John Moreno, Matthew Flores, Dennis Kipngeno- AMCC |
| High Jump |
Slavko Stevic, SLU |
Randy Kelly, NSU |
Tristan Garren, UIW |
| Pole Vault |
Kyle Sieracki, UIW |
Hayden Barrios, NSU |
Austin Davisson, UIW |
| Long Jump |
Kenson Tate, Lamar |
William Camacho, UIW |
Andrew Gilreath, NSU |
| Triple Jump |
Lance Hamilton, SLU |
Jacarrius Demmerrittee, Lamar |
Andrew Gilreach, NSU |
| Shot Put |
Djimon Gumbs, NSU |
Marcus Francis, MCN |
Donroy Brown, SLU |
| Weight Throw |
Terrell Webb, SLU |
Diamante Gumbs, NSU |
Garrett Stokes, UIW |
| Heptathlon |
Kyle Sieracki, UIW |
Tim Pelkmans, NSU |
Isaiah Hudgens, UIW |
2024 Southland Conference Women’s Indoor Track & Field All-Conference Teams
| Event |
First |
Second |
Third |
| 60m |
Lynelle Washington, NSU |
Leah Pettis, TAMUC |
Brianna Howard, Lamar |
| 60m Hurdles |
Vanessa Balde, NSU |
Kayli Johnson, Lamar |
Sarinity Bracey, UNO |
| 200m |
Brianna Howard, Lamar |
Lynelle Washington, NSU |
Vanessa Balde, NSU |
| 400m |
Sanaria Butler, NSU |
Esther Nwanze, SLU |
Chloe Rodriguez, Lamar |
| 800m |
Sophia Wolf, UNO |
Kayla Warner, McNeese |
Nia Riley, McNeese |
| Mile |
Alex Weir, UNO |
Jeny Barcenas, McNeese |
Cara Inch, Lamar |
| 3,000m |
Nia Clatworthy, Lamar |
Rebecca DeKay, UNO |
Alex Weir, UNO |
| 5,000m |
Nia Clatworthy, Lamar |
Rebecca DeKay, UNO |
Ashlyn Royal, UIW |
| 4x400m |
Vanessa Balde, Sanaria Butler, Maygan Shaw, Tranasia Jones - NSU |
Faith Outing, Adebola Odunlami, Kayla Smith, Chloe Rodriguez - Lamar |
Jordan Carter, Kayla Warner, Jashyra Thomas, Kayla Harrison - McNeese |
| DMR |
Emma Bourg, Trinity Bracey, Sophia Wolf, Alex Weir - UNO |
Cara Inch, Adebola Odulami, Mykayla Mims, Nia Clatworthy - Lamar |
Jasmine Perez, Kayla Warner, Irene Barreiro-Lopez, Grace Sullivan - McNeese |
| High Jump |
Sakari Famous, McNeese |
Magdaline Campo, TAMUC |
Abbigail Morrow, UIW |
| Pole Vault |
Annamarie Broussard, NSU |
Alisa Novosad, UIW |
Madison Brown, NSU |
| Long Jump |
Alimot Alowonle, UNO |
Sanaria Bulter, NSU |
Samari Finney, NSU |
| Triple Jump |
Myla Tate, AMCC |
Dejah Fuller, TAMUC |
Sanaria Butler, NSU |
| Shot Put |
Carnitra Mackey, NSU |
Ianna Roach, NSU |
Ashari Jones, McNeese |
| Weight Throw |
Mariah Lee, McNeese |
Glennis Woolridge, Lamar |
Ianna Roach, NSU |
| Pentathlon |
Clemence Varin, Lamar |
Raven-Symone Jarrett, NSU |
Isabella Gonzalez-Valasquez, UIW |