Ewing, NJ … The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced Justin Lindsey of The College of New Jersey was named the National Women's Assistant Coach of the Year.

Lindsey recently completed his second season as the Lions sprint and hurdles coach and had a tremendous impact on many individual and relay performances this past season for TCNJ's track and field program including the women's eighth-place finish at the Division III national championships.

“I was surprised when I heard the news, but it made me extremely proud,” noted Lindsey. “The award is a testament to what the women's program achieved this year and how hard they worked to attain their goals.”

The women's team is coming off an exceptional showing at the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships where sprinters and hurdlers compiled 14 points en route to finishing eighth in the county. The national competition was highlighted by junior sprinter Miriam Khan's (Titusville, NJ/Hopewell Valley) first-place finish in the 100-meter dash. Khan posted a school-record time of 10.67 seconds to claim the first national title in the women's 100-meter sprint in program history.

The 4x100 meter relay team of Khan, Priscilla Senyah (Sayreville, NJ/Sayreville), Kimberly Etheredge (Newark, NJ/Central), and Kim Shelus (Scotch Plains, NJ/Scotch Plains-Fanwood) placed seventh in the country and the duo of Jianna Spadaccini (Butler, NJ/Butler) and Meryl Wimberly (Farmingdale, NJ/Colts Neck) placed second and fourth in the 800-meter event. Senyah also took seventh in the 110-meter hurdles.

The women's team won the New Jersey Athletic Conference championship earlier in the season as the Lions sprint and hurdle athletes seized 121 of the team's 219 points. Eight of those student-athletes earned All-NJAC honors.

His sprint medley relay team also placed 12th overall at the 2010 Penn Relays. The team of Khan, Senyah, Wimberly, and Spadaccini set a school record at the event with a time of 3:59.65.

“Once we got the nerves and jitters out of the way during the first day at NCAAs, the girls really focused and I was just along for the ride enjoying what they accomplished,” Lindsey reflected. “I think we've re-established TCNJ as a force in Division III track and field and we have a lot of youth and newcomers to continue that trend next season.”

Lindsey also works with the men's sprinters and hurdlers. A pair of Lions, Kyle Gilroy (Oak Ridge,NJ/West Milford Twp.) and Chris Medina (Lakewood, NJ/Monsignor Donovan), qualified to compete in the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships as did two sprint relay teams. Gilroy was also the NJAC and Atlantic Region Male Track Athlete of the Year.

A 2002 graduate of Rider University, Lindsey was a five-time all-east performer serving as team captain his junior and senior years. During his collegiate career he was a 17-time conference champion.

Lindsey still competes on the national and international scene. He was a 2004 and 2008 Olympic trials qualifier in the 110-meter high hurdles. Lindsey is a three time semi-finalist at the USA Indoor National Championships in the 60-meter high hurdles and has competed in Europe including Germany, Italy, Great Britain, and Belgium.