NEW ORLEANS (March 6) – California University of Pennsylvania assistant coach Sandy Estep was honored as U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Atlantic Region Women's Assistant Coach of the Year on Friday afternoon.

Estep '12, '14 worked with a group of record-setting sprinters this winter, as the Vulcans matched their highest finish at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships earlier this month. Cal U amassed 75 points in the team standings at the league meet with sprinters and hurdlers accounting for a staggering 62 points.

In her fifth season as an assistant coach, Estep has aided in the development of sophomore Divonne Franklin (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop John Carroll), who was named the Outstanding Track Athlete of the PSAC Championships after winning a combined three league titles. She set the all-time PSAC record in the finals of the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.66 seconds, which eclipsed the previous conference mark by 0.12 seconds. Estep also coached the winning 4x400-meter relay at the league meet that won the event by just one-tenth of a second with a time of 3 minutes, 59.13 seconds.

Franklin recently earned USTFCCCA all-region honors in both the 60-meter dash and 200-meter dash, while senior Alicia Collier (Media, Pa./Penncrest) received the laurel in the 200 meters. Franklin posted the second-best time in the 200 meters this season, while Collier was third overall with a personal-best time of 24.68 seconds.

Estep has coached an individual qualifier to the NCAA Championships a combined five times over the last four years, as Franklin will compete at the national meet in Birmingham, Alabama, on March 13-14.