Wilson, Emanuel Collect USTFCCCA Region Honors

The Nebraska men’s track and field program earned two USTFCCCA Midwest Region awards on Thursday. Jonah Wilson was named the Midwest Region Men’s Field Athlete of the Year, while Brenton Emanuel was named the Midwest Region Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year. 

Award winners were determined by a vote of USTFCCCA member coaches following the conclusion of the 2023 NCAA Indoor Championships at the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, N.M. Performances from both the NCAA Indoor Championships and the regular season were considered.

Wilson, who hails from Clovis, Calif., earned the shot put silver medal at the NCAA Indoor Championships last Saturday after a personal-best throw of 68-7 1/4 (20.91m). It was the No. 2 throw in school history and the best finish by a Husker men’s track and field athlete at the NCAA Indoor Championships since 2018. A four-time USTFCCCA All-American, Wilson was also the Big Ten champion in the shot put in his first year in the conference after transferring from Washington. Following the meet, he was named the Big Ten Men’s Field Athlete of the Championships as well as the Big Ten Men’s Field Athlete of the Year. 

Wilson is the first Husker male to earn an indoor postseason regional honor since the awards began in 2006. Dusty Jonas was the Midwest Region Men’s Field Athlete of the Year in the 2008 outdoor season. Three of the last five indoor Midwest Region Men’s Field Athletes of the Year have been throwers coached by first-year Nebraska head coach Justin St. Clair. 

Emanuel, in his second year as assistant coach at Nebraska, coached two Husker athletes to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships, Darius Luff and Brithton Senior in the 60-meter hurdles. Luff finished third at the NCAA meet and led Nebraska’s 1-2 with Senior at the Big Ten Indoor Championships. Emanuel also helped guide Nick Bryant to a Big Ten title in the 600 meters with a school record of 1:15.37. And the men’s 4×400-meter relay team finished second at the Big Ten meet. 

Emanuel is the first Nebraska men’s assistant to be named Midwest Region Assistant Coach of the Year since Billy Maxwell in 2016. St. Clair was the women’s outdoor Midwest Region Assistant Coach of the Year in 2022.