SoCon announces 2026 Indoor Track & Field specialty award winners

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Wofford earned two women’s honors, while Samford, Western Carolina, and VMI collected men’s awards. Furman also received a women’s honor, as the Southern Conference announced its indoor track and field specialty awards on Wednesday. 

The awards were determined by a vote of the league’s nine indoor track and field coaches. 

Samford’s Bradley Franklin was selected as the men’s Most Outstanding Track Performer. The Alabaster, Alabama native medaled in two track events, winning both the 60-meter hurdles and the 60-meter dash. The Bulldogs sophomore set the NCAA Division I record in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 7.41 in the finals. Franklin also received the Heath Whittle Award. 

Wofford’s Taylor Jennings-Ward was named the women’s Most Outstanding Track Performer. The sophomore captured the women’s 400-meter title in a personal-best time of 54.58 and added a runner-up finish in the 60-meter dash with another personal best of 7.63. The Suffolk, Virginia native, also competed in the 200 meters and the 4x400-meter relay. 

Wofford earned a second specialty award as Sherika Christie, the women’s meet MVP, was recognized as the Most Outstanding Field Performer for the third consecutive year. The St. Catherine, Jamaica native, won both the pentathlon and the long jump and also competed in the shot put and high jump. 

Western Carolina newcomer Daniel Coronell was voted the men’s Most Outstanding Field Performer after finishing second in the long jump (7.12m) and fourth in the high jump (1.99m). The freshman from Fletcher, North Carolina also placed fifth in the triple jump with a mark of 13.23m. Coronell shared the men’s Freshman of the Year award. 

VMI’s Deonte Harris shared the men’s Freshman of the Year honor after winning the triple jump with a personal-best leap of 14.90m. The Keydets newcomer finished fourth in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.37. 

Furman’s Tessa Walter was named the women’s Freshman of the Year after winning gold in both the 3,000 meters (9:44.20) and 5,000 meters (16:37.92). The Colorado Springs, Colorado native also earned Freshman of the Year recognition in cross country earlier this academic year. 

After guiding the Samford men to their seventh consecutive championship and the women to their record-extending eleventh straight title, Rod Tiffin was honored as Coach of the Year.