MARLBOROUGH, Mass. — Wheaton College (Mass.) men's track & field member Josy Brown Wright (Sharon, Mass.) was named the New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference Men's Track & Field Rookie of the Year, it was announced by the league.
Brown Wright makes it two straight years that a Lyon has been named the conference top rookie after Scott Sloan '28 was named Rookie of the Year last spring after his record-setting effort in the javelin. Brown Wright becomes the first track athlete to earn the honor since Cecil Jeffrey '13 was selected in 2010.
In addition, Brown Wright was also tabbed a First Team All-Conference pick by the league. NEWMAC track & field athletes earned First Team honors upon placing first in any event at the conference championship meet on April 25-26, while second-place finishers received Second Team recognition.
The first year posted a time of 21.54 to win the 200 meters to become the first Wheaton student-athlete to win a NEWMAC crown in an individual track event since 2012.
Brown Wright has been outstanding during his first collegiate outdoor season, placing either first or second in the four races he has competed in this season up to and including the NEWMAC Championship meet. The Sharon High School product placed second at the Emory Dooley Elite Meet on April 4 in Atlanta, Ga. with a personal-record time of 21.44 to rank as the second-fastest time in program history. The Education major broke the school record with a mark of 54.15 to finish second in the 400-meter hurdles at the Tufts Spring Stampede on April 11. In addition, Brown Wright won the 400 meters with a time of 48.99 at the Sean Collier Invitational on April 18 in Cambridge, Mass.
Prior to the outdoor season, the rookie earned Second Team All-America status after placing 16th in the 400 meters at the NCAA Division III Indoor Championship on March 13 in Birmingham, Ala. Brown Wright earned All-East Region honors from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association with the fastest time in the region in the 400 meters. He placed first twice with a win in the 200 meters at the Wheaton Invitational on February 7 and in the 400 meters at the New England Division III Indoor Championship on March 1 in Boston, Mass.
