NEW ORLEANS – Stargell Williams has been named Mideast Region men's assistant coach of the year by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Williams put in his best work in his third year under head coach Carl Blickle, leading the Bears' highly-touted throws squad to new heights during a spring in which he played an integral role in developing two regionally ranked athletes, an NCAA qualifier, and the Bears' first Centennial Conference most outstanding field performer. Appropriately known as "Star," Williams' athletes won all four of the throwing events at the CC outdoor championships, accounting for almost half of the team's third-place, program-record tally of 147 points.

Griffin McMann was named the meet's most outstanding field performer – a first in school history – after claiming gold medals in the discus, hammer throw, and shot put, while Evan Giannetti took home the javelin crown. Nick Galbraith was runner-up in the hammer, and Riley Grourke placed third in the javelin.

Giannetti is headed to the NCAA outdoor championships as the program's first javelin qualifier since the late 1980s, while McMann holds regional rankings in the shot put (3^rd), discus (3^rd), and hammer (11^th).

Williams' event squad rankings are stellar. The javelin grouping ranks 11^th in the nation and second in the region, while the discus is best in the region and 19^th in the country. The shot put squad is 24^th nationally and second in the region, while the hammer unit ranks fourth in the region and 45^th in Division III.

Williams has made a major impact in his three seasons in Collegeville. Under his guidance, the Bears have crowned nine individual conference champions and established four new program records. McMann won both the shot put and weight throw at the 2020 CC indoor championships, and sophomore Isabelle Deal of the women's side will also join Giannetti in the javelin at the national championships this week.

A former star at Florida State University, Williams was a three-time national championship thrower and two-time All-American at Coffeyville Community College in Kansas before returning to his hometown to join the Seminoles. Williams helped lead Florida State to two Atlantic Coast Conference titles during his time there, and was a two-time NCAA East Regional qualifier in the shot put. He was runner-up in the shot put at the 2013 ACC Championship and ended his career with a personal-best mark of 59-4.5 at the 2015 NCAA East prelims.

After graduating from Florida State in 2015 with a bachelor's degree in sport management, Williams served as a volunteer assistant with the track and field program and as a facilities and event management assistant before accepting his next post at Hillsdale College. In his two years there, Williams produced four NCAA Division II qualifiers in addition to an All-American in the hammer.

Williams is a USATF Level 1 certified coach.