Fellow Coaches Name Pepin Midwest Region Coach of the Year

Lincoln - Nebraska Head Coach Gary Pepin was named Midwest Region Men’s Outdoor Coach of the Year for the second straight year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Friday morning. The coaching association has now named Pepin the coach of the year eight times, including Midwest Region Women’s Indoor Coach of the Year earlier in the 2010 season.

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Pepin and his team will be in Eugene, Ore., next week for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, where Pepin will personally coach five of NU’s 22 qualifiers. Pepin will be in charge of a talented group, as all five jumpers have previously earned All-America honors or have won a Big 12 title.

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The group includes: two-time Big 12 champion and five-time All-America high jumper Epley Bullock, three-time Big 12 champion and All-America high jumper Paul Hamilton, indoor national champion and two-time Big 12 champion long jumper Nicholas Gordon, Big 12 champion and All-America triple jumper Leandra McGruder and All-America long jumper Chris Phipps.

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Along with his most recent honor from the USTFCCCA, Pepin was also named the Big 12 Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year after leading the Husker men to their second straight outdoor conference title, marking the first time in conference history that a men’s team has repeated at the conference outdoor meet. The win added to the Huskers’ dominance in the conference, as they continue to hold a conference-high 22 team titles, all won with Pepin at the helm.

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The 2010 award marked the 21st time in the Big 12 era that Pepin has been named Coach of the Year and it is his sixth honor as the men’s top coach outdoors. Pepin brought a well-rounded men’s team to Columbia, Mo., for the conference championships, as the squad took the team title with only one individual champion.