SUWANEE, Ga. – Trinity University senior Kierra Francois (Angleton, Texas / Angleton) has been named the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Women's Field Athlete of the Year, while the Tiger coaches were honored as the Men's and Women's Staff of the Year.

Led by Head Coach Marcus Whitehead, the Trinity men's and women's track & field teams swept the SCAC Track & Field Championships for the third consecutive season. Joining Coach Whitehead on the coaching staff are Assistant Coach Thomas Dimitri, Distance Coaches Emily Daum and Lauren Loeffler, Throws Coach Ben Jakobsson, Assistant Coach Corey Wildman, and Assistant Coach Todd Wildman. In the 10 seasons under Coach Whitehead's leadership, Trinity's coaches have won seven total Men's Staff of the Year awards and eight consecutive Women's Staff of the Year honors.

Francois was named the 2023 SCAC Athlete of the Meet after leading the Tiger women to their eighth straight SCAC Championship. Francois won both the hammer throw and javelin, while also earning All-SCAC (top three) honors in both the shot put and the discus over the two-day event.

At the SCAC Meet, Francois broke her own Trinity record in the hammer by nearly six meters and moved to sixth in school history in the javelin. She also moved to third on Trinity's all-time list with her season-best mark in the discus at the Trinity Invitational. Francois is also sixth in school history in the shot put with her career-best mark in 2022. She was also selected as an All-Region performer in the hammer by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.