USTFCCCA Press Release

NEW ORLEANS, La. – The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Associaton (USTFCCCA) announced its second annual NJCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Regional Athletes and Coaches of the Year before the start of the 2016 NJCAA Division III Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championship. Winners of each region were chosen based on voting from USTFCCCA member coaches.

For Harper College women's track and field, freshman Ali Gutt (Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg) was named the Central Region Women's Track Athlete of the Year. Sophomore Leah Kloss (Grayslake, Ill. /Grayslake Central) was named the Central Region Women's Field Athlete of the Year for a second straight season. Hawks head coach Renee Zellner was named the Central Region Women's Coach of the Year for a second straight year, and assistant coach Jim Macnider was named the Central Region Women's Assistant Coach of the Year for a second time.

Entering the national meet, Gutt was ranked first nationally in both the 1500 and 800 and also a key member of Harper's 4x400m relay team. Kloss had another strong regular season in field events. She came into the national meet with ranked No. 1 in the hammer, No. 2 in the javelin, No. 3 in the discus, and No. 5 in the shot put.

Zellner has many nationally-ranked athletes and had the Hawks ranked No. 2 in the National Team Computer Rankings and No. 1 in the Central Region. Macnider has been instrumental in the success of the Harper distance runners, especially Gutt, Leslie Rosiles (Mount Prospect, Ill./Rolling Meadows), and Katie Thevara (Des Plaines, Ill./Elk Grove). Rosiles and Thevara both entered the national meet ranked inside the top four at 10,000 meters.