MileStat Announces Justin Byron Coach of The Year

This year had one of the hardest and closest battle for coach of the year. The decision and award came down to performances at the national meets and how things turned out due to coaching. We finally came to a decision after the girls 4x400 when an alternate had the biggest split of her career to help her team run #2 all-time in VA. That team was Nansemond River and our coach of the year is Team War's Justin Byron.

Coach B as he is known, has slowly been building quite the powerhouse at Nansemond River with their girls team. They were the top American finishers at the Penn Relays in the 4x400 and also Small Schools 4x100 Champions the same day.

There is no doubt that the Suffolk area is full of great athletes but the process of getting them to come out for a team and to see their potential is a whole different thing. To achieve these goals and accolades there needs to be a coach who is dedicated and relatable to these athletes and that is what Coach B is.

This season Nansemond River won the outdoor girls 4A state title by a large margin despite having a depleted squad because of graduation. They also had a great variety of points across the hurdles, sprints, relays, and field events. He also coached these girls to have phenomenal versatility that includes the ability to sprint, hurdle, and throw.

Some highlights of his season aside from the Penn Relays trip were their big victory at Arcadia (CA), Brandee' Johnson sneaking into the unseeded heat at Nationals to finish second, having his 4x400 without their top runner go #2 all-time.

With this award Justin joins: Claude Toukene, Jeff Artis, James DeMarco, Mike Mangan, Jeff Custer, and Jason Switzer.