Washington men third in USTFCCCA John McDonnell Program of the Year for 2022-23...
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| Pole vaulter Jacob Englar qualified for both the NCAA indoor & outdoor championships (Paul Merca photo) |
NEW ORLEANS--The University of Washington men's track and field & cross country programs finished third overall in the USTFCCCA's John McDonnell Program of the Year for the 2022-23 academic school year.
The award is based on a simple formula of how the team finishes in the NCAA cross country, indoor, and outdoor track & field championships (i.e. 1st = 1 point, 2nd = 2 points … 31st = 31 points) with the lowest total score for all three championships combined determining the award winner. Ties among schools split points for positions taken.
During the 2022-23 school year, the Husky men finished 14th at the cross country championships, a program best fourth place finish indoors, and over the weekend, placed ninth at the outdoor track & field championships in Austin, scoring 27 points.
Brigham Young won the John McDonnell Program of the Year award with a total of 25.5 points. The Cougars were third in cross country, tied for twelfth indoors, and finished tenth at the outdoor championships.
Arkansas placed second with 26 points, finishing 23rd in cross country, winning the indoor title, and taking second outdoors.
The Husky women's squad finished 13th in the Terry Crawford Program of the Year standings. Washington was 17th in cross country, 24th indoors, and 29th outdoors, giving them a score of 72 points.
Arkansas was the country's top women's program with 25 points, after finishing 21st in cross country, winning the indoor team title, and placing third outdoors.
The Razorbacks were followed by Oregon with 29.5 points (14-11.5-4), and Texas with 34 points (31-2-1).
Washington is one of only 11 schools to have both its men's and women's teams qualify for the rankings.
To gain eligibility for the USTFCCCA Program of the Year awards, teams must qualify for all three NCAA championships.
This is the highest finish ever for the men—the rankings began in 2008-09—surpassing a fourth-place finish in the 2015-16 year. Last year, the men finished seventh overall.
The women last qualified for the year-end rankings in 2020-21, when they were ninth.
The USTFCCCA Program of the Year Awards are named after John McDonnell, the legendary coach at Arkansas, and Terry Crawford of Tennessee, Texas & Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Both are members of the USTFCCCA Hall of Fame for their coaching accolades which includes leading their schools to numerous national titles.
NOTE: The USTFCCCA & the sports information office of the University of Washington contributed to this report.
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