LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Slippery Rock University head track and field coach John Papa was named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year in an announcement from the league office Tuesday.

(Photo courtesy of SRU)

The award is the 20th conference Coach of the Year honor that Papa has earned during a storied 32-year career at The Rock.

It comes on the heels of a season in which the SRU women claimed the league title at the outdoor championships for the 16th time overall and the first time since 2009. Slippery Rock snapped a streak of nine straight championships won by Shippensburg and moved three titles clear of the Raiders for the most in league history.

Papa has guided the SRU women to a total of 12 of those 16 women’s outdoor titles and has now led Slippery Rock to a total of 24 PSAC team titles in the sports of men’s and women’s cross country, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field.

He has coached a total of 117 All-Americans, 37 Academic All-Americans and 10 individual national champions. Papa has been named the Atlantic Region Coach of the Year 16 times in addition to his 20 PSAC Coach of the Year awards.

Slippery Rock’s women’s outdoor track and field team has finished in the top three places at the PSAC Championships in 28 of Papa’s 32 years at SRU. His women’s team has never finished lower than fourth at the conference meet during his tenure.

Papa becomes the third Slippery Rock head coach to earn a PSAC Coach of the Year award in 2018-19, joining football coach Shawn Lutz and tennis coach Matt Meredith.