Willits Named USTFCCCA Field Regional Athlete of the Year

AMES, Iowa – Sydney Willits has been named the USTFCCCA Women's Field Midwest Region Athlete of the Year, announced Thursday.

The award comes following Willits becoming the long jump national champion at NCAA National Championships. Despite entering nationals at the No. 12 seed, Willits improved her previous best by a full foot, also downing the school record by six inches with her title-winning mark of 22-1 1/2 (6.74m). Willits becomes the first long jump national champion and 44th total in Iowa State history. She is also the first ISU champion since 2021. Her title led the Iowa State women to a 20th-place team finish in the nation.

Who Else?

Sydney Willits is the Women's Field Midwest Region Athlete of the Year.https://t.co/oOx062OGtO pic.twitter.com/uQ9gtDeNQ5
— Iowa State Track & XC (@CycloneTrackXC) March 14, 2024

The multi-event athlete put together a remarkable season taking down both the long jump and pentathlon school records. At Big 12 Championships, the multi-event athlete took fourth in the pentathlon with her program record of 4,085 while competing in the long jump the same day to finish fifth, combining for nine team points. Willits also nearly qualified for nationals with her pentathlon best, ranking 20th in the nation.

The two-time All-American now holds top 10 program marks in seven indoor and outdoor events with five in the top five throughout the long jump, pentathlon, heptathlon, 200m dash, 60m hurdles, and 4x100m relay.

Award winners were determined by a vote of USTFCCCA member coaches following the conclusion of the 2024 NCAA DI Indoor Track & Field Championships. Regional winners will now move on to the USTFCCCA National Awards ballot.