Barton’s Lyon earns national outdoor track honor #GoBarton

Christian Lyon of the nationally ranked Barton Community College men's track and field team has been named the NJCAA Division I National Athlete of the Week by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Yes, the wind was fast, but it benefitted every competitor in the 100 meter finals in front of over 20,000 spectators at the Home Depot Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays this past weekend in Austin, Texas. But of all of those competitors, including the top-three on the NCAA Division I Descending Order List, Lyon took home the win.

A sophomore from Fort Carson, Colorado, Lyon posted a blistering 10.00 (3.6 m/s wind) in the 100 to defeat some of the nation's fastest runners to become the first Cougar since Ronnie Lloyd's title in 1990 and the first junior college athlete since 1992 to win the university division of the meet.

Lyon's time also inked the storied Barton program's third best 100m time to rank behind Erick Wilson's 9.93 (2003) and Steve Mullings' 9.96 (2004).

Teaming up in the 4×100m relay with Demetri Keaton, Samson Colebrooke, and Dartez Hamlin, the tandem posted a clocking of 40.35 for the second best time on the season's NJCAA Division I Descending Order List.

This is the second time in program history a Barton male track athlete has been named the outdoor National Athlete of the Week, joining now Clemson University Tiger Deron Gordon's award in week five of the 2015 season.

<Story contribution by Tyler Mayforth, USTFCCCA>