RICHARDSON, Texas- The West Texas A&M Cross Country program has swept the final awards of the season with two runners and head coach Zach Daniel being voted with the honors of LSC Men's Runner of the Year, LSC Women's Runner of the Year and LSC Men's and Women's Coach of the Year. Coach Daniel makes WT Cross Country history becoming the first coach to be voted both the Men's and Women's Coach of the Year while Amponsah continues to polish an unprecedented season claiming every award possible and being undefeated in the 2023 season. 
 
Top individual finishes at national, regional and conference competitions led to 2023 Lone Star Conference Cross Country honors for West Texas A&M athletes William Amponsah and Eleonora Curtabbi and head coach Zach Daniel who were recognized by the league's head coaches.
 
William Amponsah | Junior | National Champion
Amponsah (Agona Swedru, Central, Ghana) was named LSC Men's Cross Country Runner of the Year. The junior won the 2023 NCAA Division II men's individual title with a winning 29:04 time over the 10-kilometer race, besting the field by nearly nine seconds. Amponsah was individual champion at both the Division II South Central Region and LSC Championships. He was named Division II National Cross Country Athlete of the Year by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Association adding to his South Central Region Runner of the Year and LSC Newcomer of the Year awards. In addition, Amponsah was selected LSC Runner of the week on three separate occasions and took home USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week. 
 
Curtabbi | Senior | National Runner-Up
Curtabbi (Turin, Italy) was selected LSC Women's Cross Country Runner of the Year. The senior won the 2023 LSC women's cross country individual title posting a 20:27.9 for the 6-kilometer race nearly 45 seconds ahead of the field. Curtabbi followed that performance with an individual runner-up placing at the Division II South Central Regional (20:23.2) before finishing as the national runner-up at the NCAA Division II Championship in a personal-best 19:45.2 time for the 6k. Curtabbi was selected as an LSC Runner of the week this season. 
 
Both Amponsah and Curtabbi were named to the USTFCCCA All-America and All-South Central Region lists in addition to LSC All-Conference awards. The 2023 season is the third straight year West Texas A&M has swept the LSC Runner of the Year awards with prior runners being Florance Uwajeneza (2021,2022) and Harry Louradour (2022). 
 
Head Coach Zach Daniel | Second Season
Coach Daniel was selected as the LSC Men's and the LSC Women's Coach of the Year. It is the second straight conference coaching awards for Daniel who led both teams to their respective conference championships. This season the WT men's team placed an all-time best fourth at the NCAA Division II Championships following a third-place finish at the Division II South Central Region championships. The Lady Buffs posted an all-time best sixth-place finish at the NCAA Division II Championship after placing fourth at the South Central Region championship.
 
Daniel was awarded the Men's Coach of the Year in 2022 keeping with a 12-year streak of WT winning the Men's honor, while breaking a nine-year drought of being voted the Women's Coach of the Year. The last honor for Women's Coach of the Year was in 2014 awarded to then-head coach Kimberly Dudley.