Simpson Named Pac-12 Field Athlete of the Year, Johnson Honored as Top Men’s Coach

EUGENE, Ore. - After winning his second straight title in the long jump at the Pac-12 Track and Field Championships last weekend, Oregon senior Damarcus Simpson has been named the Pac-12 men's field athlete of the year, the conference announced on Wednesday.

Head coach Robert Johnson, who led the Men of Oregon to their 12th straight conference title, was honored as the Pac-12 men's coach of the year.

Simpson captured his second straight conference championship in the long jump with a huge wind-aided mark of 27 feet, four inches, on his third attempt, though any one of his four jumps would have won him the title. Simpson's winning mark ranks No. 1 in the nation entering next weekend's NCAA West Regionals.

The Lafayette, Ga., native was also the Pac-12 runner-up in the 100 meters to teammate Cravon Gillespie in a windy 10.14, second-best in the Pac-12 and tied for 20th in the nation this season, and he ran the opening leg on the runner-up 4x100 meter relay team, contributing to a total of 26 points to the Ducks' winning score. This marks Oregon's fourt all-time men's field athlete of the year honor and is the first since Ashton Eaton won his second in a row in 2010.

Johnson, in his sixth season as the Ducks' head coach and 13th overall at Oregon, earned the honor of Pac-12 men's coach of the year for the second straight season and fourth time since 2013. Johnson guided the UO men to a dominant victory last weekend in Stanford, and saw Sam Prakel (1,500m), Braxton Canady (110mH) and Cravon Gillespie (100m) join Simpson as individual conference champions.

Johnson now owns nine conference coach of the year awards, five on the women's side and four on the men's, and has won 13 total team championships since taking over as head coach. Under Johnson, Ducks have won a total of 61 individual Pac-12 titles over the last six seasons.

Pac-12 Track and Field End-of-Year Awards:
Men's Track Athlete of the Year - Michael Norman, USC
Women's Track Athlete of the Year - Kendall Ellis, USC
Men's Field Athlete of the Year - Damarcus Simpson, Oregon
Women's Field Athlete of the Year - Maggie Ewen, Arizona State
Men's Freshman of the Year - Jordan Geist, Arizona
Women's Freshman of the Year - Twanisha Terry, USC
Men's Coach of the Year - Robert Johnson, Oregon
Women's Coach of the Year - Caryl Smith Gilbert, USC