National Track Coach of the Year Announcement

NEW ORLEANS — Illinois Wesleyan multis/javelin/high jump coach Lisa Becharas was honored by her NCAA Division III peers as the Women's Assistant Coach of the Year for the 2015 outdoor track & field season, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced Wednesday (May 27).

In her first year as a full-time member of the Illinois Wesleyan staff and in her third year overall, Becharas mentored three women to points at the NCAA Division III national meet, contributing to the Titans' fourth-place finish. Senior Allie Boudreau headlined the scorers with a runner-up finish in the heptathlon after posting the ninth-best score in DIII history during the regular season. Also at nationals, junior Jill Harmon placed seventh in the heptathlon and freshman Molly McGraw placed eighth in the high jump.

Last week Becharas was named the region's "Women's Assistant Coach of the Year" for outdoor track. At the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin championships, her athletes finished 1-2-3 in the javelin, 1-2 in the heptathlon and won the high jump for a total of 61 points.


Josh Buchholtz (men) and Pat Healy (women) of Wisconsin-La Crosse were voted as the top head coaches, while Wisconsin-Whitewater jumps coach Eric Schueffner was named the men's assistant coach of the year.
Buchholtz and Healy were honored for leading their La Crosse track & field squads to conference and national team titles.  Buchholtz's men scored 71 points for the highest team score at NCAAs since the Eagles themselves scored 99 in 2007, while Healy's women's 73 points delivered La Crosse's first women's outdoor title since 1984.
Under Schueffner, Whitewater's jumpers racked up 26 points at nationals, which would have been good for sixth place as a team.