NEW ORLEANS – For the third-straight cross country season, Augustana's Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Tracy Hellman has been named the USTFCCCA Central Region Coach of the Year for women's cross country.
 
The honor is the fourth for Hellman with women's cross country and 13^th region coach of the year honor overall for the 25-time conference coach of the year.
 
Hellman, in his 22^nd year as head coach at Augustana, led the Viking women to the team title at the Central Region Championships with 62 points. Augustana also won the team title at the NSIC Cross Country Championships with 56 points.
 
The Viking women's and men's cross country teams close their seasons Friday, Dec. 2 at the NCAA Division II National Championships in Seattle, Washington. The women's team enters the meet ranked No. 5 in the nation while the men's team is No. 10