Alligood and Hsu Named UAA Men’s Track and Field Most Outstanding Outdoor Performers, Coaching Staff Honored

(ROCHESTER, N.Y.) - Carnegie Mellon University sophomore Sam Alligood and senior Jacob Hsu were honored by the University Athletic Association (UAA) when the 2024 Outdoor Track and Field awards were announced Tuesday. Alligood was named Most Outstanding Performer in the field events, while Hsu was Most Outstanding Performer in the running events. Both played a major contribution in helping lead the Tartans to back-to-back UAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The coaching staff was also honored as the Men's Coaching Staff of the Year.

Alligood won the shot put at the UAA Championships last weekend while placing second in the discus and fourth in the hammer throw. The sophomore opened the championships with a toss of 15.33 meters in the shot put. He then threw the hammer a personal-best 47.07 meters to finish competition on Saturday. Alligood then returned Sunday to record another personal-best mark, this time 46.70 meters in the discus.

Hsu won the UAA title in the 5,000-meter run with a time in the finals of 14:51.77 last Sunday afternoon. His time won by 0.15 seconds as he sprinted the last 100 meters to take over the top spot. On Saturday, Hsu placed second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase also sprinting at the end to finish in a personal-best time of 9:18.05.

The Coaching Staff of the Year award is the eighth for the men's staff in outdoor competition, as head coach Gary Aldrich, associate head coach Tim Connelly and assistant coaches Michele Bradley, Patrick Kimball and Michael Stark were all honored after the Tartans won the sixth UAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship in program history. This marked the second straight season that the staff was awarded Coaching Staff of the Year