NEW ORLEANS - Colorado School of Mines' Jocelyn Sparks has been named the USTFCCCA Women's Outdoor Track & Field Assistant Coach of the Year for the South Central region, repeating the honor she earned during the 2024 indoor season.

It marks the fourth such honor for Sparks, who just wrapped up her 11th year coaching the Orediggers' pole vaulters. Mines qualified a national-best six vaulters to the NCAA Championships, including four women, and produced three all-Americans from the six with Hannah Miller finishing fourth, Hunter Potrykus seventh, and Avery Herbold 11th. Both the Mines men and women ranked atop NCAA Division II in the USTFCCCA's last EventSquad ratings on May 21. 

The group was key to Mines capturing the RMAC outdoor women's team title for the first time ever, scoring 31 points led by gold medalist Herbold; the men scored 31.5 points led by the champion Potrykus, and both teams swept the podium at the conference meet. During the regular season, both Miller and Potrykus broke the RMAC and Mines outdoor records for the pole vault.