Army West Point Athletics
Three Track and Field Members Garner USTFCCCA All-Region Honors
June 04, 2021 | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
Â
August Cook was named the men's field athlete of the year, Emily Mikoud was tabbed the women's field athlete of the year and Angelo Posillico was named the men's assistant coach of the year.
Â
Cook set a meet record in the javelin of 75.20m (246-9) at the Patriot League Outdoor Championships. Two weeks later, Cook won the event title at the IC4A Outdoor Championships with another heave of 71.00m (232-11) or better. For the third time in his career, Cook punched a ticket to the NCAA outdoor championships.
"August is no stranger to success and he continues to raise the standard of excellence for our program," head coach Mike Smith said. "This is his second regional award and probably his most dominating season ever. The javelin is only contested outdoors and it is difficult to compete in the event at every meet because of the extreme demands placed on the body. So javelin throwers are often overlooked when compared to other track and field athletes that compete often and in multiple events. August's competitive dominance during the regular season and the significance of his winning throw at the Patriot League meet (2.5 meters farther than his previous school record, made him an easy choice for the regional award. He is one of the most dominating performers to ever come through our program and there have been some good men and women on this team in the past. Last weekend August qualified for his third NCAA championship appearance in as many attempts. There is only one other Army athlete to have qualified for the NCAA championships in every year of eligibility and that was Curt Alitz who qualified for the meet in 1975-1978. August is not finished yet and I look forward to seeing what he can do next week in Eugene."
Â
Mikoud earned two throws titles at the Patriot League Outdoor Championships, winning the discus in a PR of 50.42m (165-5) and hitting a seasonal best in the shot put of 15.51m (50-10¼). Additionally, she had the most points by a women's athlete in the meet. Two weeks later, she won the discus crown at the ECAC Outdoor Championships and finished runner-up in the shot put.
"I'm very proud of Emily and what she has accomplished in her career and this award validates the athleticism of one of our brightest young stars," Smith said. "Emily won this award because of her elite performances in the shot, discus and hammer. She is a versatile athlete and it is her versatility that won her the high point award at the Patriot League Championship meet where she scored 28 points outscoring some entire teams. It is ironic that that versatility has been the biggest challenge for her. It is hard enough to master the technical aspects of one event in track and field and Emily has been a dominant force on the conference and regional level in 4 events for us since she joined our program. She led the region in the shot put and was in the top three in the discus and hammer throw this year. That type of high level versatility is difficult to achieve and she has done it with hard work and a lot of determination. She is the best all-around performer that we have on the women's team and has often carried our success on her shoulders at every level."
Â
In his fourth year with the program, Posillico coached the Black Knights to a sweep of all four throwing events at the Patriot League Outdoor Track & Field Championships. His throwers combined for 86 points, the most in Patriot League history. The Black Knights also won three titles at the IC4A Outdoor Track & Field Championships and were the top-ranked Northeast Region event squad in all four throwing events.
"Angelo's men dominated the throwing events at the Star meet, the Patriot League meet and the Northeast region this spring and this is a well deserved award for him," Smith said. "He has won this award several times now and in so doing has elevated the profile of our program on the national level. He is a rising star in the coaching ranks and we are lucky to have him in our program." Â
Players Mentioned
