National exposure continues to come for Nansemond River High School’s track and field program.

The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association recently announced the winners of its second annual Girls High School Coach of the Year award for track and field.

For the state of Virginia, the award went to Nansemond River’s Justin Byron.

“I normally don’t get too excited, but it was exciting,” he said of receiving the accolade. “It was an exciting honor for Nansemond River.”

The esteemed and high-profile source of the award is what had Byron in awe.

Byron said the association is the governing body that coaches in the high school, college and professional ranks go to for resources and education, and it is the organization that hands out some of the most prestigious accolades in the sport.

Byron deflected praise to a variety of people, including Nansemond River activities director Kristy Brett and Principal Thomas McLemore.

Brett said Byron is deserving of the accolade.

“He’s had an outstanding couple of years with our indoor and our outdoor track program, winning several state championships,” Byron said.

“He does a fantastic job,” McLemore said.

The association said winners are selected based on their teams’ performances throughout the 215 track and field season, including team score and placement at the state championships, the number of different events in which athletes qualified, individual championships and how the performance compared to previous years.

The Lady Warriors followed up their first outdoor state title in 2014 by winning the 2015 Virginia High School League Group 4A outdoor state championship 115.50 to 68 over their nearest competitor, Phoebus High School.

Nansemond River featured 37 qualifiers and eight champions in the team win.

After a heart-breaking 2.5-point loss to E.C. Glass High School at the 2014 VHSL Group 4A indoor state meet, the Lady Warriors brought home their first indoor state championship in 2015 with a 122-78 win over E.C. Glass.

Nansemond River had 34 qualifiers for that meet and produced eight champions.

It may look like an instant turnaround has happened at NR, but Byron said that’s not the case.

“Overnight success is normally three to five years of work,” he said. “It’s been a lot of hard work by a lot of different people.”

Among those people, he cited fellow coaches at Nansemond River like John James, Allen Watson, Jessie Grant, Robin Hirsch, Steve Lewis and Aaron Dudley.

In addition to supportive administrators and other talented coaches, Byron said committed athletes and parents have been key to making the program so successful.

Aquilla Redding, Nansemond River team mom of the last four years, had high praise for Byron.

“I always felt he was great, and now we’re sharing it with the world, now we’re sharing Coach B with the world,” she said.

“I think Justin’s certainly earned the respect of all the girls that he works with on his team, and he puts in the time and the effort,” Brett said. “It’s a lot of extra time put in that goes above and beyond just the time spent during his regular school practice sessions.”

Redding said, “He knows the difference between each athlete so he knows that he can’t coach each athlete the same.”

McLemore noted, “He’s very creative and innovative with what he has them do.”

Byron also expressed gratitude for the impact the high-profile coaching award can have on a community.

“When you have a program that’s getting national exposure, it becomes a positive outlet for kids in the community which in turn the community continues to invest in the program,” he said.