Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State Garners Four Major End of Year Big West Awards
5/19/2023 12:03:00 PM | Track and Field
Director of Track and Field Andy Sythe, Ryley Fick, Sebastian Coleman, and Alex Heerink-van Breda all earned top honors.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Long Beach State garnered four of the major end of year Big West awards with Director of Track and Field Andy Sythe earning Women's Coach of the Year honors, Ryley Fick earning Women's Track Athlete of the Year, Sebastian Coleman earning Men's Field Athlete of the Year, and Alex Heerink-van Breda earning Women's Freshman of the Year. The conference office announced the winners Friday afternoon.
Ryley Fick | Senior | Women's Track Athlete of the Year
Fick put together a historical 2023 campaign as an encore to a historical 2022 season. At the Big West Championships, she defended all three of her titles winning both the 800m and 3000m Steeplechase races before earning her second straight Women's Track Athlete of the Meet honor. Her time of 10:14.49 in the steeple set a new meet record shattering the previous mark set back in 2012.
This season, the senior also altered the Long Beach State record books in four different events. She is now the school record holder in both the 1500m and the 3000m Steeplechase while ranking number two in both the 800m and 5000m. Including the indoor season, she now ranks top seven in program history in every track event she has competed in with five school records.
The award gives her back-to-back athlete of the year honors making her the third woman in Big West history to repeat. She is the only athlete in program history to garner the award. Yesterday, it was announced that she is a two-event NCAA Regional Qualifier as she will compete in the steeple and 800m in Sacramento next week.
Sebastian Coleman | Senior | Men's Field Athlete of the Year
Coleman was dominant all year and caps off his senior season with his first ever Athlete of the Year award. At the Big West Championships, he was a double champion taking home the titles in both Discus and Hammer ultimately making him the Field Athlete of the Meet as well. His hammer title was his second straight after winning the event last year as well.
This season, he led the Big West in all three throws events he competed in and qualified for the NCAA West Prelims in two of them. Captaining the team, he entered or improved his marks in the LBSU top tens moving up to number five in Discus and number ten in Hammer to go along with his fifth-best mark in Hammer that he set last year.
The award extends Long Beach State's historic stretch of eight consecutive Field Athlete of the Year awards. He is the first thrower to garner the honor since 2012. Looking ahead, Coleman is set for his second consecutive two-event postseason run, ranking top 30 in the West Region for both Discus and Hammer.
Alex Heerink-van Breda | Women's Freshman of the Year
Heerink-van Breda wasted no time making her presence known in the collegiate ranks during her rookie campaign. At the Big West Championships, she won the 400m Hurdles title with a lifetime-best time of 58.78 which was the fastest time for a Big West athlete all season. She is the first Beach athlete to win the event since the great Le'Gretta Hinds won three straight back in 1993-95.
This season, she improved on her time nearly every time she stepped on the track ultimately ending with the sixth fastest 400m Hurdle time in program history. She also consistently ran a leg on the relay teams that posted the ninth best 4x100 time and the fifth best 4x400m time with a runner-up finish at the conference championships.
The South Africa native becomes the first Women's Freshman of the Year award winner since 2018 and the fourth overall to garner the award for the women's team. She will also continue her season at the NCAA West Regionals next weekend.
Director of Track and Field, Andy Sythe | Women's Coach of the Year
For Coach Sythe, it is his second consecutive Coach of the Year honor leading the women's team to back-to-back conference championships for the first time in program history. At the Big West Championships, the team totaled 149 points in the team standings for a new program record and saw four individuals win event titles.
For the season, he and his staff guided the team to 31 new Long Beach State all-time top ten marks with every student-athlete that competed setting at least one new personal best. Including this year, he has now guided the Beach to a total of 16 conference championships, 26 athletes of the year, and 188 Big West event champions. This Coach of the Year award marks his eleventh time receiving the award overall and third with the women's team.
Sythe will oversee 17 student-athletes at the NCAA Regionals next week with 19 different qualifying marks. That marks the most for the program since the 2017 season.
Ryley Fick | Senior | Women's Track Athlete of the Year
Fick put together a historical 2023 campaign as an encore to a historical 2022 season. At the Big West Championships, she defended all three of her titles winning both the 800m and 3000m Steeplechase races before earning her second straight Women's Track Athlete of the Meet honor. Her time of 10:14.49 in the steeple set a new meet record shattering the previous mark set back in 2012.
This season, the senior also altered the Long Beach State record books in four different events. She is now the school record holder in both the 1500m and the 3000m Steeplechase while ranking number two in both the 800m and 5000m. Including the indoor season, she now ranks top seven in program history in every track event she has competed in with five school records.
The award gives her back-to-back athlete of the year honors making her the third woman in Big West history to repeat. She is the only athlete in program history to garner the award. Yesterday, it was announced that she is a two-event NCAA Regional Qualifier as she will compete in the steeple and 800m in Sacramento next week.
Sebastian Coleman | Senior | Men's Field Athlete of the Year
Coleman was dominant all year and caps off his senior season with his first ever Athlete of the Year award. At the Big West Championships, he was a double champion taking home the titles in both Discus and Hammer ultimately making him the Field Athlete of the Meet as well. His hammer title was his second straight after winning the event last year as well.
This season, he led the Big West in all three throws events he competed in and qualified for the NCAA West Prelims in two of them. Captaining the team, he entered or improved his marks in the LBSU top tens moving up to number five in Discus and number ten in Hammer to go along with his fifth-best mark in Hammer that he set last year.
The award extends Long Beach State's historic stretch of eight consecutive Field Athlete of the Year awards. He is the first thrower to garner the honor since 2012. Looking ahead, Coleman is set for his second consecutive two-event postseason run, ranking top 30 in the West Region for both Discus and Hammer.
Alex Heerink-van Breda | Women's Freshman of the Year
Heerink-van Breda wasted no time making her presence known in the collegiate ranks during her rookie campaign. At the Big West Championships, she won the 400m Hurdles title with a lifetime-best time of 58.78 which was the fastest time for a Big West athlete all season. She is the first Beach athlete to win the event since the great Le'Gretta Hinds won three straight back in 1993-95.
This season, she improved on her time nearly every time she stepped on the track ultimately ending with the sixth fastest 400m Hurdle time in program history. She also consistently ran a leg on the relay teams that posted the ninth best 4x100 time and the fifth best 4x400m time with a runner-up finish at the conference championships.
The South Africa native becomes the first Women's Freshman of the Year award winner since 2018 and the fourth overall to garner the award for the women's team. She will also continue her season at the NCAA West Regionals next weekend.
Director of Track and Field, Andy Sythe | Women's Coach of the Year
For Coach Sythe, it is his second consecutive Coach of the Year honor leading the women's team to back-to-back conference championships for the first time in program history. At the Big West Championships, the team totaled 149 points in the team standings for a new program record and saw four individuals win event titles.
For the season, he and his staff guided the team to 31 new Long Beach State all-time top ten marks with every student-athlete that competed setting at least one new personal best. Including this year, he has now guided the Beach to a total of 16 conference championships, 26 athletes of the year, and 188 Big West event champions. This Coach of the Year award marks his eleventh time receiving the award overall and third with the women's team.
Sythe will oversee 17 student-athletes at the NCAA Regionals next week with 19 different qualifying marks. That marks the most for the program since the 2017 season.
Players Mentioned
Throws
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Sprints/Hurdles
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