SAU's Ellis, Jr., Williams Win NCAA Division II National Track Athlete, Coach of the Year Honors

RALEIGH, North Carolina -- Standout sprinter Burkheart Ellis, Jr. (Sr./Raleigh, NC) of Saint Augustine's University was named NCAA Division II National Men's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year and legendary Head Coach George Williams of Saint Augustine's University was chosen NCAA Division II National Men's Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Thursday, June 2, 2016.

Ellis led the Falcons to their fourth consecutive men's outdoor national crown this past weekend. He won the national title in the 200 dash, placed second in the 100 dash and was part of the national champion 4x100 relay squad. Ellis posted the seventh-best 200 time (20.46) and seventh-fastest 100 time (10.17) in Division II history at the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championships. During the regular season, Ellis ranked first in the 200 with a time of 20.36, which is third-fastest in Division II history.

This is the second national honor for Ellis in two days. On Wednesday, the Saint Augustine's University graduate won the High Point Scorer Award for scoring the most men's points at the outdoor championship meet (20.5). Last week, he was named Atlantic Region Men's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year.

Williams won his fourth straight USTFCCCA national coaching honor and fifth in seven years after guiding the Falcons to their 15th men's outdoor national title. Williams has captured 18 national coaching honors (men and women, indoor and outdoor combined) since the USTFCCCA first handed out the awards in 1994.

The Falcons scored all their points on the final day to rout co-runner-ups Tiffin University and Texas A&M University-Kingsville 85-36. Saint Augustine's University nearly won the women's team title as well, falling by one point 52-51 to national champion Pittsburg State University. In April, the Falcons claimed their 19th straight CIAA men's title by outscoring Virginia Union University 203-139.83.

Saint Augustine's University has won 38 NCAA national track and field titl
es under Williams. He has won the most NCAA track and field championships of any collegiate coach.

COURTESY SAINT AUGUSTINE'S UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS