NEW HAVEN, Conn. (May 18, 2026) – Goldey-Beacom College junior Jalen Wright has been named the 2026 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Men’s Track Athlete of the Year and Georgian Court University junior Mark Linton has been selected the 2026 CACC Men’s Field Athlete of the Year, CACC Commissioner Dan Mara announced today. The voting was conducted by the league’s 10 head coaches.
Wright and Linton headline the release of the CACC’s major award winners in men’s outdoor track & field. Thomas Jefferson University’s Dylan Boyle is the Track Rookie of the Year and Georgian Court’s Shona Mutokuto has been chosen as the Field Rookie of the Year. GCU head coach Mike Murawski was voted the 2026 Athletic Solutions CACC Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Coach of the Year by his peers, while Georgian Court is also the winner of the annual Team Sportsmanship Award.
Wright, from Wilmington, Del., is the Track Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive season. In 2026, he repeated as the CACC champion in the 400-meter hurdles and took the silver medal in the 400-meter dash. He also scored in the 200-meter dash at the conference championship meet, placing seventh, and ran a leg for Goldey-Beacom’s runner-up 4x400-meter relay team. He was named All-East Region in both the 400-meter hurdles and 400-meter dash.
Linton, of Orange Bay, Jamaica, broke a 10-year-old CACC meet record in the hammer throw. He won that event and finished second in the shot put and discus throw in helping Georgian Court to the conference championship. Linton, who was an all-region honoree in all three events, led the East Region and finished 28th on the national Division II performance list in the discus.
Boyle was the CACC’s 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter champion, one of two men to win two gold medals in individual events this year. The Bethlehem, Pa., resident was also the 2025 CACC Rookie of the Year in men’s cross-country.
Mutukoto, of Clarksburg, Md., was chosen based on his prowess in the triple jump. He finished third in the event at the CACC championship. Mutokuto finished fourth in the triple jump on the final CACC outdoor performance list, including first among freshmen, and was 10th in the East Region.
Muraski is the CACC Men’s Outdoor Coach of the Year for the fifth time (2015, 2016, 2019, 2021). The only coach in GCU history on the men’s side, he led the Lions to their conference-record seventh CACC championship. Georgian Court claimed 10 all-conference performers, including five First-Team honorees, and placed four athletes and eight performances on the all-East Region team.
Muraski’s Lions were also the coaches’ choice for the Team Sportsmanship Award for displaying class and character throughout the outdoor season.
2026 CACC MEN'S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Jalen Wright (Goldey-Beacom College)
2026 CACC MEN'S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Mark Linton (Georgian Court University)
2026 CACC MEN'S TRACK ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Dylan Boyle (Thomas Jefferson University)
2026 CACC MEN'S FIELD ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Shona Mutokuto (Georgian Court University)
2026 ATHLETIC SOLUTIONS CACC MEN'S TRACK & FIELD COACH OF THE YEAR
Mike Murawski (Georgian Court University)
2026 CACC MEN'S TRACK & FIELD TEAM SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD
Georgian Court University
Founded in 1961, the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference has been affiliated with NCAA Division II for 20 years. Conference institutions compete for championships in 17 sports – seven for men, nine for women, and one co-ed. The CACC contains 11 full members in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. Membership includes the University of Bridgeport, Caldwell University, Chestnut Hill College, Dominican University New York, Felician University, Georgian Court University, Goldey-Beacom College, Holy Family University, Post University, Thomas Jefferson University, and Wilmington University.