Lawson Headlines SEC Postseason Honors
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Arkansas senior Jarrion Lawson was selected as the Southeastern Conference Field and Scholar-Athlete of the Year for his efforts this season on the runway and in the classroom. Head coach Chris Bucknam was recognized by the conference as well, picking up SEC Coach of the Year honors.
Arkansas, the No. 1-ranked team in the nation, also collected eight All-SEC and All-Freshman accolades.
Lawson is the first Razorback to receive dual recognition in top SEC award categories. One of the best long jumpers in the world, Lawson solidified his standing on the track and field circuit at the Razorback Invitational. His 2016 best in the event was 8.17m/26-9.75. A steady selection to the Bowerman Watch List all season, Lawson heads into his fourth and final NCAA Indoor Championship as the SEC champion and co-collegiate leader in the long jump.
A 2015 University of Arkansas graduate, Lawson puts as much emphasis developing his mind along with honing his runway skills. The Texarkana, Texas native currently holds a 4.0 grade point average displaying a mastery of his MBA coursework at the Walton School of Business. Lawson is a multiple SEC honor roll selection and past USTFCCCA All-Academic honoree.
Fresh off his regional Coach of the Year award, the SEC announced Friday Bucknam’s 17th recognition for the conference award since his arrival at Arkansas during the fall of 2008. Bucknam guided the Razorbacks to their 100th conference victory with a win at the 2016 SEC Indoor Track and Field Championship on Feb. 27. Arkansas scored in all 15 events that featured 24 Razorback student-athletes. Bucknam also won the honor in 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2014.
Seven of those 24 student-athletes, including Kenzo Cotton (60m), Cameron Griffith (mile), Lawson (long jump), Ken LeGassey (high jump), Clive Pullen (triple jump), Andrew Ronoh (3K and 5K) and Andreas Trajkovski (long jump) were selected to the All-Conference team for outstanding performances in their respective events.
Lawson, LeGassey and Pullen earned All-SEC First Team recognition as the trio placed first in the long, high and triple jumps respectively to combine for 30 points toward the Razorbacks’ team score at the conference meet.
Cotton and Trajkovksi collected All-SEC Second Team accolades off a third place finish at 60 meters and a second place finish in the long jump, respectively.
In their SEC debuts as Razorbacks, Griffith and Ronoh collected top-eight finishes in the mile and 3K to earn SEC All-Freshman team recognition. Ronoh was a two-time selection making the team for the 5K as well.
Arkansas will travel to Birmingham, Alabama for the 2016 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship on March 11-12. The Razorbacks last won the national meet in 2013 and placed third at last year’s competition with 39 points.
2016 SEC Indoor Track and Field Awards
Men’s Coach of the Year: Chris Bucknam, Arkansas
Men’s Runner of the Year: Christian Coleman, Tennessee
Men’s Field Athlete of the Year: Jarrion Lawson, Arkansas
Men’s Freshman Runner of the Year: Donavan Brazier, Texas A&M
Men’s Freshman Field Athlete of the Year: Jacob Wooten, Texas A&M
Men’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Jarrion Lawson, Arkansas
2016 SEC Indoor Track and Field All-SEC Teams
Men’s All-SEC First Team
Donavan Brazier, Texas A&M
Cameron Brown, Tennessee
Christian Coleman, Tennessee
Robert Domanic, Ole Miss
Craig Engels, Ole Miss
Kunle Fasasi, Florida
Eric Futch, Florida
Trevor Gilley, Ole Miss
Najee Glass, Florida
Arman Hall, Florida
Jarrion Lawson, Arkansas
Ken LeGassey, Arkansas
Ryan Manahan, Ole Miss
Ashinia Miller, Georgia
Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake, LSU
Kahmari Montgomery, Missouri
Jordan Moore, LSU
Clive Pullen, Arkansas
Garrett Scantling, Georgia
Ryan Walling, Ole Miss
Audie Wyatt, Texas A&M
Men’s All-SEC Second Team
Andres Arroyo, Florida
Josh Awotunde, South Carolina
Payton Ballard, Alabama
Jake Blankenship, Tennessee
Antonio Carter, Tennessee
Jimmy Clark, Florida
Ari Cogdell, Tennessee
Latario Collie, Texas A&M
David Collins, LSU
Kenzo Cotton, Arkansas
Will Crocker, Missouri
Sam Dickerson, Missouri
Fitzroy Dunkley, LSU
Dondre Echols, South Carolina
Ayrian Evans, Georgia
Robbie Farnham-Rose, Alabama
Kyle Felpel, Alabama
Justin Fondren, Alabama
Maurice Freeman, Georgia
Wes Gallagher, Ole Miss
Andrew Harris, Alabama
Yanick Hart, Florida
Hector Hernandez, Texas A&M
Raytez Jenkins, Georgia
Jacopo Lahbi, Alabama
Alex Poursanidis, Georgia
Shawn Johnson, Auburn
Luca Russo, Missouri
Karl Saluri, Georgia
Nathan Strother, Tennessee
Jacob Thomson, Kentucky
Sean Tobin, Ole Miss
Andreas Trajkovski, Arkansas
Lindon Victor, Texas A&M
Cain Winebrenner, Missouri
Derrick White, Georgia
Will Williams, Texas A&M
Chase Wolfle, Texas A&M
Markesh Woodson, Missouri
Men’s All-Freshman Team
60m: Ryan Clark, Florida
60mH: Xavier Coakley, Auburn
200m: Ryan Clark, Florida
400m: Kahmari Montgomery, Missouri
800m: Donavan Brazier, Texas A&M
Mile: Cameron Griffith, Arkansas
3,000m: Andrew Ronoh, Arkansas
5,000m: Andrew Ronoh, Arkansas
Pole Vault: Jacob Wooten, Texas A&M
Long Jump: Mark Rubalcaba, Auburn
Triple Jump: Mark Rubalcaba, Auburn
Shot Put: Denzel Comenentia, Georgia
Weight Throw: Matthew Zajac, Tennessee
Heptathlon: Nathan Hite, Texas A&M
For more information on Arkansas track and field including in-meet updates, follow @RazorbackTF on Twitter.
