EAST STROUDSBURG - The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association has named East Stroudsburg University's Joe Koch and Chris Merli as the Men's Outdoor Track & Field Head Coach and Assistant Coach of the Year for the Atlantic Region, it was announced Tuesday.

Koch and Merli guided the Warriors to a second-place finish at the PSAC Championships with a school-record 137 points and will take six men's athletes and three women's athletes, along with the men's 4x100m relay team, to the NCAA Division II Championships at San Angelo, Texas later this week.

Koch is in his 23rd year at ESU and his 20th as the men's track and field head coach, while Merli is in his 12th year as a coach at the university and completed his third year as the head coach of the women's program. Merli works with the Warriors' sprinters, hurdlers and jumpers and will have juniors Andrew McCloskey (100m), Rusty Smith (110m hurdles) and Matt Gallup (pole vault) at the NCAA Championships.

McCloskey was the Men's Athlete of the Meet at the PSAC Championships after winning the 100m and 200m dash and anchoring the 4x100m relay, all in school record times. He is the first ESU men's sprinter to be selected to the NCAA Championships after running an automatic qualifying time of 10.41 seconds in the 100 and joins Lenny Jenkins (1974) as the only ESU athletes to win three PSAC championships at the same meet.

The 4x100m squad of sophomore Asher Ashfield, juniors Chris Reddick and Jeff McClenton and McCloskey are the first ESU relay to be selected to the NCAA's and won the PSAC title in 40.83 seconds two weeks ago.

Smith, Gallup and junior Paul Wagner (hammer throw) also won PSAC titles in their events. Smith, a two-time indoor All-American, broke his own school record in 14.41 seconds in the 110m hurdles, Gallup won his fourth straight PSAC pole vault championship and Wagner won his fourth PSAC championship, set the conference meet record (190-3) and also holds the overall PSAC record (190-7) in the hammer.

Wagner and two javelin throwers, junior Kenny Cardullo and sophomore Bill Buis, will also represent the Warriors at the NCAA Championships.

Koch and Merli have coached the Warriors' men to 20 school records, 11 indoors and nine outdoors, and have taken eight men's and five women's athletes to the NCAA Championships to compete in 24 events in the past two years.

This marks the third track and field coach of the year honor for Koch, along with the 2001 NCAA women's regional coach of the year and the 1990 ECAC men's coach of the year award. He has also been recognized twice for his work with the Warriors' cross country program.