The awards and recognition keep coming in for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) Track & Field program. Recently the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association nominated Head Coach Ernest Barrett for Mid-Atlantic Region Women's Coach of the Year and also nominated the Lady Hawks' Tanisha Wisdom for the Mid-Atlantic Region Athlete of the Year.
In each of the nine regions, the USTFCCCA selects the top men's and women's track athlete, field athlete, head coach and assistant coach.
Barrett led the Lady Hawks Indoor Track & Field Team to the title of Co-Champions for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). Barrett's team captured the team's first title since 1992 when they won in Outdoor Track & Field. The Lady Hawks took Most Outstanding Performer honors with Mereccia James and set several MEAC and school records.
Wisdom dominated the region in the 400-meter dash, posting the sixth fastest time in the country and eventually finishing 13th in the nation at the NCAA Indoor Championships. She won the 200-meter and 400-meter dashes at the MEAC Championships and ran as part of the teams that won the distance medley relay (DMR) and the 4 x 400-meter relay. The DMR team set a school and Jamaican national record as all four members are natives of Jamaica.
Barrett nor Wisdom won the award but were honored to be nominated.
"It is great to be included in the field of nominees," said Barrett. "It is humbling and a tribute to the hard work of the entire team."
UMES has completed their indoor season and will start their outdoor season this weekend at Wake Forest.
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