NEW ORLEANS - Texas A&M University-Commerce junior thrower Josh Boateng has been named the South Central Region Men's Field Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), as announced Friday morning.

Boateng (St. George's, Grenada) has had a stellar outdoor season in 2019, qualifying for next week's NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the discus throw and shot put. He claimed the top seed in the discus throw with a toss of 61.00 meters (200-2) on April 25, marking the fourth-longest throw in Division II history. In the shot put, he qualified as the fourth seed with a toss of 18.70 meters (61-4 1/4). Both marks broke school records that had previously stood since 1983.

In addition to his school records, Boateng now holds the national record for Grenada in both events, while also holding the indoor shot put record for his country, which he set in February.

"I'm really proud of Josh.  This is his first semester with us and he and coach Igor (Mislejenovic) work well together," said Lion head track and field coach George Pincock. "We have hope that this just one award of many coming in the next week and that Josh has a great performance at the National Championships next week."

Boateng is the second Lion to win USTFCCCA Regional Athlete of the Year honors in either the indoor or outdoor season, joining Florian Obst, who was the Indoor Field Athlete of the Year in 2018. Boateng's win give the Lone Star Conference the Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year award for the seventh consecutive season.