WAC Indoor Track and Field Postseason Honors Announced
DENVER – The Western Athletic Conference announced its WAC Indoor Track and Field Athletes of the Year as selected by the conference's eight head coaches. Kansas City's Christopher Bryan and Sommer Herner earned honors on the men's and women's sides, respectively.
Bryan, a graduate student from St. Catherine, Jamaica, competes in multiple events, including triple jump, long jump and the 60-meter hurdles. He jumped a personal best 15.98 meters to earn gold in the triple jump at the WAC Indoor Track and Field Championships held on February 28-29 in Nampa, Idaho. In Idaho, he earned gold in the long jump (7.60m) and silver in the 60-meter hurdles (8.16 seconds). Bryan also garnered the Men's High Point Athlete award and was named the Men's Outstanding Field Athlete at the WAC Indoor Championships.
During the season, the Jamaican earned four gold medal finishes and one silver finish, highlighted by a performance at the Bob Timmons Classic in Lawrence, Kansas, where he earned gold in both the 60-meter hurdles (8.25) and long jump (7.46m). He also had the top mark in the long jump at the Missouri Intercollegiate in Columbia, Mo., and at the 2020 Adidas Classic in Lincoln, Neb., jumping 7.40 meters and 7.35 meters, respectively. Bryan's lone silver finish during the season came at the 2020 Jayhawk Classic where he finished second in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.17 seconds.
Herner, a sophomore distance runner from St. Joseph, Mo., finished a spectacular 2019-20 season with gold finishes in both the 800-meter dash (2 minutes 16.40 seconds) and the mile (4:59.67) at the 2020 WAC Indoor Track and Field Championships. In the prelims of the 800-meter dash, she finished with a personal-best time of 2:13.98. At the indoor championships, she also earned a silver medal in the 3000 with a time of 10:04.91, another personal record. In Idaho, she earned the Women's High Point Athlete award and was named the Women's Outstanding Track Athlete.
During the season, Herner earned a total of eight Top-5 finishes, including five Top-2 finishes. One of her best performances of the year came at the 2020 Adidas Classic where she earned gold in the 800 (2:17.64), a fourth-place finish and a personal best in the 600 (1:36.47) and helped steer her team to a sixth-place finish in the 4x400 meter relay. At the 2019 Mel Tjeerdsma Classic in Maryville, Mo., Herner collected gold in the 1000 (2:54.46) and silver in the mile (4:57.13). She also shined at the 2020 Jayhawk Classic with a second-place finish in the 800 (2:15.99) while also helping lead her team to a third-place finish in the distance medley relay (12:30.16).