NEW ORLEANS – Little Rock's
Cameron Jackson refused to be denied at the 2022 Sun Belt Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The rest of the league took notice.
Less than a week after winning three gold medals, setting a school record in the 200m dash and ending the championship meet as the Top Meet Scorer with 22.5 points, Jackson was named the league's 2022 Men's Track Athlete of the Year by a vote of the league's coaches.
Only a sophomore, Jackson becomes just the second Little Rock athlete to ever lay claim to the honor following Leo Settle in 1998.
He left Louisiana with the rest of the Sun Belt in his wake with no chance of anyone able to top the "Fastest Man in the Sun Belt." Jackson and Little Rock will move to the Ohio Valley Conference next year where he will have the opportunity to do the same.
To add to his collection of Sun Belt awards, Jackson received First Team All-Sun Belt Conference honors in the 100m and 200m dashes and the 4x100m relay after winning the gold medal in all three of those events. That marked the first time a Trojan 4x100m relay team has won gold since 1998 while Jackson's gold medals marked the first time a Little Rock sprinter has won gold in either (or both) of those events since Chris Johnson won double golds in 2005.
Cogan DeRousselle,
Troy McKnight and Taveion Neal, also members of that 4x100m relay team, also received first team all-conference honors. All four members of that relay received their first career outdoor all-conference honors in outdoor track and field. It will likely not be their last.
Johnathan Jones was a first team honoree as well after winning the gold medal in the high jump. After advancing to the NCAA West Prelims last season after finishing third at the Sun Belt Championships, he unsurprisingly leapt over the competition for his first conference championship gold medal. This marks his first career outdoor all-conference honor.
Also receiving all-conference accolades was
Teresa Thomas in the 400m as she received third-team honors after claiming the bronze medal in the event at last week's championship meet. It marks her first career all-conference honor as well.
Little Rock athletes now await selections for the NCAA West Preliminary Championships, which will be held in Fayetteville, Arkansas on May 25-28. The men's 4x100m relay,
Cameron Jackson in the 100m and 200m dashes and
Johnathan Jones in the high jump are assuredly in while
Jordan Wallace (triple jump) and
Ryan Curington (long jump) are waiting for final declarations to see if their seasons will continue. Those selections are expected to be announced this week.
For the latest information on Little Rock Track & Field, make sure to check out
LRTrojans.com. You can also find the team on social media at @LittleRockTFXC on
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Sun Belt Superlative Awards
Men's
Most Outstanding Track Performer: Cameron Jackson, Little Rock
Most Outstanding Field Performer: Arthur Petersen, UTA
Newcomer of the Year: Dominick Yancy, Texas State
Freshman of the Year: Jackson Cichon, UTA
Coach of the Year: Paul Brueske, South Alabama
Women's
Most Outstanding Track Performer: Melissa Jefferson, Coastal Carolina
Most Outstanding Field Performer: Alyssa Wilson, Texas State
Newcomer of the Year: Alyssa Wilson, Texas State
Freshman of the Year: Eunice Ilunga Mbuyi, ULM
Coach of the Year: Jim Patchell, Arkansas State
Little Rock Athletes Named All-Sun Belt Conference
First Team
Cogan DeRousselle (4x100m Relay)
Cameron Jackson (100m, 200m, 4x100m Relay)
Johnathan Jones (High Jump)
Troy McKnight (4x100m Relay)
Taveion Neal (4x100m Relay)
Third Team
Teresa Thomas (400m)
#LittleRocksTeam
