NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. -The Little East Conference announced its annual major award winners for the 2009 men's outdoor track and field season this afternoon after a vote by the conference's coaches. Keene State College senior Peter Najem (Derry, N.H.) was named the track athlete of the year, while teammate sophomore Bryan Kolacz (Brentwood, N.H.) was selected as the field athlete of the year. The University of Southern Maine freshman tandem of Justin Vigeant (Wells, Maine) and Orion Winkler (Brownfield, Maine) earned the rookie track athlete and rookie field athlete of the year awards, respectively. Scott Hutchinson was tabbed the coach of the year by his peers for the second straight year.

Najem advanced to the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships for the first time in his career, qualifying for the 800-meter race. The Derry, N.H. product covered the course in a time of 1:52.18 to place third in his heat, but narrowly missed advancing to the finals. Najem lowered the Owls' standard in the 800 and posted an NCAA provisional qualifying time at the New England Open Championships with his fifth place-first Division III runner-result (1:51.81). He captured the 800-meter titles at the New England Division III, New England Alliance, and Little East Conference Championships, while finishing seventh at the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III meet.

Kolacz became just the 10th Keene State College student-athlete in men's track and field to capture a national championship, breaking the Don Drumm Stadium and school record with a throw of 61.48 meters at the 2009 NCAA Division III Championships hosted by Marietta College (Ohio). The All-American honoree is just the first field athlete in the program's history to stand atop the national podium since Paul Trocki won the decathlon in 1979. The native of Brentwood, N.H. entered the field as the top-seeded thrower in the hammer after setting the national standard at the New England Open Championship (1st, 60.17m). Kolacz swept each of the post season meets he entered in the hammer throw, adding the ECAC, New England Division III, New England Alliance, and Little East Conference Championship titles to his mantle. He was also named the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Association New England field athlete of the year. Kolacz was voted the 2008 rookie field athlete of the year by the conference coaches.

Vigeant is the second straight Southern Maine student-athlete to be named the conference's top rookie track athlete, joining Mason Shepard (Portland, Maine). He established a new Huskies' record and posted a NCAA provisional qualifying time in the 200-meter at the State of Maine Championships, tripping the clock at 21.74. Vigeant also captured the 100-meter individual title and combined with his classmates to win the 4X100-meter relay at the state meet to earn the prestigious Alan G. Hillman Award, presented to the most valuable track athlete. The Wells, Maine product also received All-New England honors in the 200-meters with his eighth place result. A week earlier, he was a part of the school-record 4X400-meter relay team that won the New England Division III Championship (3:19.91). Vigeant earned a pair of All-New England Alliance citations for placing second in the 200-meters and third in the 100-meter. He was selected as the track athlete of the week for April 19, while claiming the rookie award three times on the campaign. 

Winkler made an immediate impact in the Southern Maine field lineup, specializing in the pole vault. He qualified for New England Open and ECAC Championships, while earning All-New England honors at the Division III Championships with a fifth place vault of 4.35 meters. The Brownfield, Maine native swept the New England Alliance and Little East Conference Championships by clearing 4.34 meters. Winkler was one of nine Huskies to win a State of Maine Championship with a season-high vault of 4.50 meters. He was named the conference rookie field athlete of the week in two of the four times the award was presented.  

Hutchinson guided Southern Maine to the program's first New England Alliance Championship and second straight Little East Conference Championship this past season, outdistancing Westfield State by just 1.5 points for the regional title. The Huskies' equaled the program's best finish at the New England Division III Championship, finishing eighth in the team standings. For the second consecutive campaign, Hutchinson mentored an All-American as senior James Spaulding (Lewiston, Maine) repeated in the decathlon at the national meet. Seven of his student-athletes were named to the Little East All-Academic teams for the spring semester.

Initially formed in 1986 as a six-team men's and women's basketball conference, the Little East Conference has since grown to its present eight-school membership, sponsoring championship play in 19 intercollegiate athletics: baseball; men's and women's basketball; men's and women's cross country; field hockey; men's and women's lacrosse; men's and women's soccer; softball; women's swimming; men's and women's tennis; men's and women's indoor track; men's and women's outdoor track and women's volleyball.