Caldwell's Treston Forbes Named CACC Men's Track Athlete & Rookie of the Year to Highlight 2015 Major Award Winners
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (May 20, 2015) -- The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) handed out its inaugural round of major year-end awards in the sport of men's track & field on Wednesday, and Caldwell University's Treston Forbes highlighted the list of honorees as he claimed both the 2015 Men's Track Athlete and Rookie of the Year honors. The announcement of the major awards was made by CACC Commissioner Dan Mara.
Joining Forbes as major award honorees was the Georgian Court University duo of Joseph Kaas and Michael Brazzel, who claimed the CACC Men's Field Athlete of the Year and Field Rookie of the Year, respectively.
The voting for the awards was completed by the league's head coaches in the sport following the conclusion of the inaugural CACC Men's Outdoor Track & Field Championship, which was held on May 3 in Lakewood, N.J.
Forbes had a sensational rookie season for the Cougars and it was capped with a spectacular showing at the conference meet earlier in the month. Forbes claimed three championships on the day, including winning the 100-meter dash (10.93) and the 200-meter race (22.03). He put an exclamation point on his championship-winning day as he was a member of the school's first-place 4x400-meter relay team that captured gold in a time of 3:32.36. Forbes also finished in third place in the high jump and in third as a member of the 4x100 relay team. In all, Forbes helped to accumulate 42 of his team's points as Caldwell finished runner-up at the conference championship.
Kaas also had a memorable day at the conference championship, as he turned in four top-four finishes, including victories in the shot put and discus. He also claimed Second-Team All-CACC honors in the hammer throw with a chuck of over 147 feet. Kaas' first-place marks in the shot and discus were 48 feet, 6 inches and 148 feet, 3 inches, respectively. He also turned in a fourth-place showing in the javelin. Overall, Kaas contributed to 14 percent of his team's points at the CACC Championship, as the Lions claimed the first men's track & field title in conference history.
Brazzel earned the conference's top-rookie award in the field events after winning the javelin at the CACC Championship and ranking among the top throwers in the nation all season. Brazzel claimed victory in the event at the CACC's with a toss of over 217 feet. He was also victorious in the javelin at the Osprey Open, as he also met an automatic national qualifier mark with the victory. Brazzel contributed 25 points to GCU's championship-winning score at the CACC meet, as he also finished second as a member of the 4x100 relay team, placed third in the 100 meters, notched fourth in the triple jump and took seventh in the long jump.
Also announced on Wednesday was that Georgian Court head coach Michael Murawski had been named the 2015 CACC Men's Track & Field Coach of the Year for his masterful guidance in leading the Lions to the conference crown. The CACC meet was not the only strong performance turned in by the Lions all year, as they also had a solid third-pace showing at the CTC Championship earlier in the season.
The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference is an NCAA Division II Conference composed of 14 institutions in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The member institutions are Bloomfield College, Caldwell University, Chestnut Hill College, Concordia (N.Y.) College, Dominican (N.Y.) College, Felician College, Georgian Court University, Goldey-Beacom College, Holy Family University, Nyack College, Philadelphia University, Post University of Waterbury, University of the Sciences, and Wilmington University.