BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Gulf South Conference has announced the 2019 men's track & field annual awards, as voted on by the league's coaches. Lee University's Christian Noble was named the GSC Track Athlete of the Year and Caleb Morgan was named the GSC Coach of the Year after winning a second conference title, including the 2016 GSC Track & Field Invitational, with Lee.
Noble becomes the second straight Lee Flame to earn Track Athlete of the Year honors after Justin Brooks shared the award last season. The junior from Greenfield, Ind., was named the Most Outstanding Overall Athlete and Most Outstanding Track Athlete at the 2019 GSC Championships after winning the 5000-meter run, 10000-meter run and 3000-meter steeplechase at Barron Stadium. His season best steeplechase time of 8:55.03 ranks him first in the entire South Region.
"I am humbled to receive this award," said Noble. "There are a lot of exceptional athletes on my team and in our conference that could have won this instead of me. I am thankful to my teammates for pushing me each day to become better. I am thankful for Coach Morgan for always having a plan and guiding me through this season."
Morgan is in his sixth season at the helm of the Lee track & field program and recently led his men to a second GSC Championship in the last four years. This is the second time he has been named the GSC Men's Coach of the Year, previously winning the award in 2016. He becomes the first coach in GSC track & field history to sweep the annual awards, as he was also named the Women's Coach of the Year.
"This wouldn't be possible without my assistant coaches," said Morgan. "They do a terrific job working with our athletes on a day-to-day basis. Our athletes here at Lee are extremely driven. I am proud of the winning culture they have created. This would not be possible without their hard work and dedication to get better each day."
