Robert Murphy

NEW ORLEANS – In the days ramping up to the NJCAA Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track & Field Championships this weekend, two Vincennes University sophomores have been honored nationally for their outstanding indoor season performances.

Distance runner Robert Murphy, a former standout at Warsaw Community High School, and field athlete Isaiah Thomas were among the inaugural class of Region Athletes and Coaches of the Year for the 2015 NJCAA indoor track & field season. The honorees were announced Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), as voted on by the NJCAA’s coaches.

Both student-athletes, who were honored for the Midwest Region, will be competing for the Trailblazers in the two-day championship meet Friday and Saturday at the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, NM.

Men’s Track Athlete of the Year

MIDWEST REGION – Robert Murphy – Vincennes
Sophomore Murphy is currently second on the NJCAA season list in the mile (4:09.39), second at 3000 meters (8:21.61), fifth at 800 meters (1:53.22), seventh at 1000 meters (2:31.13) and on the seventh-ranked (VU) DMR (10:23.14). He holds school records in every event, 800 through 3000 meters.

Isaiah Thomas

Men’s Field Athlete of the Year

MIDWEST REGION – Isaiah Thomas – Vincennes

Thomas, a sophomore from Wanatah, sits second on the NJCAA season list in the long jump with a season best of 25-2½ (7.68m). He has broken the Vincennes University school record three times this season in that event.

The championship meet’s combined events will begin at 10:30 a.m. (Mountain Standard Time – two hours behind EST or “Vincennes time”) on Friday. Track Events (all prelims except Distance Medley Relay, 3,000 Meter and 5,000 Meter events, which will be timed finals) will start at 3 p.m. and field events will get going at 3:30 p.m. Saturday’s combined events will start at 10 a.m., field events are set to start at 11 a.m. and the starter’s pistol fires on track events at noon.

For a complete event schedule of the two-day championship meet, visit: http://www.visitalbuquerque.org/includes/content/docs/media/2015-NJCAA-Schedule-of-Events.pdf.

For combined events, meet officials will use a rolling schedule. For back-to-back events, the meet will start no earlier than 30 minutes after the completion of the previous event (the schedule is subject to change based on the combined events schedule).