ARLINGTON, Texas – The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) has officially announced its 2026 Outdoor Track and Field major award winners, as voted by the leagues’ head coaches.
 
Utah Valley’s Sila Kiplagat was selected as the WAC Men’s Athlete and Freshman of the Year after winning the men’s 5,000-meter and 1,500-meter events at the WAC championships. Kiplagat set the Utah Valley school record of 3:40.74 in the 1500-meter at the Stanford Invitational and set the program’s second-best mark in the 5,000-meters at the Bryan Clay Invitational with a time of 13:49.23.
 
The WAC Women’s Athlete of the Year honor was split between UT Arlington’s Eliza Lemberga and Utah Valley’s Morgan Nokes. Lemberga compiled the most total points out of all athletes in the WAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships with 25 points. Lemberga claimed the gold medal in the heptathlon after totaling 5,558 points and recorded two additional podium placements with a second-place finish in the high jump and a third-place finish in the javelin throw.
 
Nokes was crowned the champion of the WAC women’s 10,000-meter and 5,000-meter races and is an NCAA regional qualifier for both events. Nokes ran the 15^th fastest 10,000-meters in NCAA DI at the Standford Invitational with a time of 32:20.03 and clocked the 25^th fastest 5,000-meters at 15:31.20 in the Bryan Clay Invitational.
 
Tarleton State’s Emma Holmes was named the WAC Women’s Freshman of the Year after winning the 400-meter dash, taking second place in the 200-meter dash and helping the Texans to gold in the 4x100-meter relay in the WAC championships. Holmes set the Tarleton State school record in the 400 meters with a mark of 52.92 seconds at the SMU Invitational.
 
Tarleton State’s Bobby Carter was chosen as the WAC Men’s Coach of the Year and Utah Valley’s Scott Houle was tabbed the WAC Women’s Coach of the Year as both head coaches led their squads to their respective outdoor championship titles.
 
2026 WAC OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD AWARDS
 
Men’s Athlete & Freshman of the Year
Sila Kiplagat, Utah Valley
 
Men’s Coach of the Year
Bobby Carter, Tarleton State
 
Women’s Co-Athlete of the Year
Eliza Lemberga, UT Arlington
Morgan Nokes, Utah Valley
 
Women’s Freshman of the Year
Emma Holmes, Tarleton State
 
Women’s Coach of the Year
Scott Houle, Utah Valley