Johansson, St. Clair Win All-Region Awards

Nebraska sophomore thrower Axelina Johansson was named the USTFCCCA Midwest Region Women’s Field Athlete of the Year, and head track and field coach Justin St. Clair was named both the Midwest Region Men’s and Women’s Coach of the Year on Thursday.

Johansson, a sophomore from Hok, Sweden, won the NCAA shot put national title with a mark of 63-3 1/4 (19.28m). Johansson put on a dominating display at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Austin, Texas, as each of her six throws would have won her the NCAA gold medal. Johansson became the third Husker female to win an NCAA shot put title. She also was named the Big Ten Women’s Field Athlete of Championships after winning the Big Ten shot put with a personal best and meet record 64-1 1/4 (19.54m). Johansson’s throw was a Nebraska school record and a Swedish national record. It was also the top mark in the NCAA this season, the No. 2 throw in NCAA outdoor history and the No. 7 throw in the world in 2023. Johansson swept the Big Ten indoor and outdoor shot put titles this season, and she was the NCAA indoor runner-up in March. 

St. Clair, in his first year as head coach, led the NU women to an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Championships with 25 points, their best performance at the NCAA meet since 2006. The Husker men tied for 17th at the NCAA meet, their best finish since 2016. Both the NU men and women had the top NCAA finish of any team from the Midwest Region. The Husker women had two NCAA champions, both coached by St. Clair. Johansson won the NCAA shot put title, while Rhema Otabor won the javelin title. The Huskers had a combined 17 All-Americans, including seven first-team All-Americans. St. Clair was the Big Ten Men’s Outdoor Coach of the Year after the Husker men won the Big Ten Outdoor Championships with 151 points, their most at a conference meet since 2004. Meanwhile, the Husker women scored 112 points, their most ever at a Big Ten meet, to finish third. The Huskers collected a combined 12 Big Ten titles.