FRISCO, Texas – Southeastern Louisiana's Jeff Milliron, a native of Cobleskill, N.Y. (Middleburgh H.S.), was named the Southland Conference outdoor track and field men's newcomer of the year.

“Jeff has done everything we expected him to do and has a lot of upside,” head coach Sean Brady said. “At the Southland meet alone, he set three P.R.s in the shot put competition. If he can be a little bit better in the regionals he has a chance to move on to the NCAAs.”

The sophomore transfer from SUNY Cobleskill placed third in the discus (181-11), sixth in the shot put (54-01.75) and ninth in the hammer throw (160-0). Milliron's performances at the conference outdoor championships last weekend were his best of the season.

“He came from a Division III, non-scholarship junior college and the year he decided to transfer they had 100 inches of snow,” Brady said. “Jeff wanted to come to a training environment where he would be outside every day of the year.  He came right in and assumed the leadership role in the men's throwing group.”

Outside of their normal recruiting area, the Lion coaching staff found out about Milliron from a trusted source.

“Jeff's junior college head coach was one of coach Brian Mondschein's former athletes. We took a chance on him sight unseen and he's been a tremendous asset for the program.

For the season, his discus toss was the third best in the conference while his shot put and hammer throws finished one place in back of his conference meet ranking.

McNeese State senior David Rooney and sophomore teammate Mariah Georgetown have been named the athletes of the year, the league office announced Thursday.

Rooney was named the conference's men's outstanding runner in addition to his men's athlete of the year accolade. The Dublin, Ireland (Portmarnock H.S.), native, won the 10,000 meters with a time of 30:51.78 and set a conference championship record in the 5,000 meters with a time of 14:05.80. His time beat the previous record set in 2008 by Texas A&M Corpus Christi's Shadrack Songok by more than 15 seconds and ranks fifth all-time in the Southland's performance list. He also holds the second-best 5,000 meters time, clocking in at 13:53.04 at the Mt. SAC Relays earlier this season. Rooney is second athlete from McNeese to win athlete of the year and outstanding runner, joining Kristian Rahnu who also won both awards in 2001.

Georgetown was named women's athlete of the year after winning the heptathlon and placing second in the 100-meter hurdles. The Baker, La. (Bethany Christian H.S.), native, scored 5,265 points to win the heptathlon, placing first in the 100-meter hurdles (13.78) and 200-meter dash (24.80) and second in the javelin (116-00) and 800 meters (2:23.09). Her performance beat last year's winner by more than 250 points. Georgetown also placed second in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.61, one-hundredth of a second behind first place.

Stephen F. Austin sophomore Jamal Peden was named the men's outstanding field performer after winning both the long jump and the triple jump by more than a foot. The Wylie, Texas (Wylie H.S.), native, won the long jump with a mark of 25-feet, 8.75 inches and the triple jump with a leap of 52-6.

Darian Brown was named the men's freshman of the year award winner. The Texas State student-athlete from Killeen, Texas (Ellison H.S.), placed second in the discus (182-10), fourth in the shot put (56-11.25) and fifth in the hammer throw (175-7). Brown's 17-point performance helped Texas State to a second-place overall finish, five spots up from its 2011 ranking.

The women's outstanding track performer was awarded to Stephen F. Austin's Lauren Smith. The sophomore from Lake Jackson, Texas (Brazoswood H.S.), won the 5,000 meters with a time of 17:24.55 and the 10,000 meters with a time of 36:13.32. Smith also was the women's high-point scorer at the outdoor championships with 20 points.

The women's outstanding field performer is Arlington, Texas (Seguin H.S.), native, Ashlee Smith. Smith won the discus with a toss of 165-10, 18 feet better than second place. The junior from McNeese State placed third in the shot put with a throw of 47-6.25 and placed sixth in the hammer throw with a mark of 167-4. Smith's performance earned her the second-highest point total with 19.

Shahira Ehiemua, a native of Missouri City, Texas (Marshall H.S.), native, was named the women's freshman of the year.
Ehiemua placed second in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.71 and third in the 200-meters with time of 23.91. She was also part of the first-place UTSA 4x100-meter relay team which clocked in at 44.81, which is the second-fastest time in Southland history. Her team-leading 16.5 points led all league freshmen.

UT Arlington's Maria Sandstrom, a native of Malmoe, Sweden (Malmoe Latin School), is the women's newcomer of the year after finishing second in the 5,000 meters (17:25.79) and third in the 10,000 meters (37:06.84).

Earning coach of the year honors were UTSA men's coach Aaron Fox and Stephen F. Austin women's coach Phil Olson. Fox won third coach of the year award after leading the Roadrunners to their fourth outdoor title and third in the last five years. Olson is a five-time women's outdoor coach of the year, having also won the award in 2003, 2009, 2010 and 2011.

The annual outdoor track and field awards are voted on by the league's men's and women's head coaches and SID's and are based on the performances of the student-athletes' outdoor track and field season.
 
2012 Southland Conference Outdoor Track & Field Awards

Athlete of the Year
Men - David Rooney, McNeese State
Women - Mariah Georgetown, McNeese State

Outstanding Field Events
Men - Jamal Peden, Stephen F. Austin
Women - Ashlee Smith, McNeese State

Outstanding Running Events
Men - David Rooney, McNeese State
Women - Lauren Smith, Stephen F. Austin

Freshman of the Year
Men - Darian Brown, Texas State
Women - Shahira Ehiemua, UTSA

Newcomer of the Year
Men - Jeff Milliron, Southeastern La.
Women - Maria Sandstrom, UT Arlington

High Point Scorer
Men - Timothy Young, Texas State
Women - Lauren Smith, Stephen F. Austin

Coach of the Year
Men - Aaron Fox, UTSA
Women - Phil Olson, Stephen F. Austin