Eight From Pac-12 Receive USTFCCCA West REgion Honors

Eight From Pac-12 Receive USTFCCCA West REgion Honors

Jun 4, 2012 by FloTrack Staff
Eight From Pac-12 Receive USTFCCCA West REgion Honors

For Immediate Release // Monday, June 4, 2012

Contact // Natalia Ciccone (nciccone@pac-12.org)

Web Release | 2012 Media Guide


Eight From Pac-12 Receive USTFCCCA West Region Honors


WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches of America (USTFCCCA) announced its menÂ’s and womenÂ’s Athletes and Coaches of the Year on Monday, and eight from the Pac-12 received West Region nods. The awards are voted on by the nationÂ’s coaches.


STANFORDÂ’s Chris Derrick (Naperville, Ill.) was named the USTFCCCA West Region Track Athlete of the Year after winning the 5000 meters and was runner up in the 1500 meters at the Pac-12 Championships in Eugene, Ore. He qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 10,000 meters and, earlier in the season, set the American collegiate record in the event with a time of 27:31.38. Derrick was named to the Bowerman Watch List. The award is presented to the nationÂ’s top menÂ’s and womenÂ’s track and field athlete.


ARIZONAÂ’s Nick Ross (Murietta, Calif.) was selected the USTFCCCA West Region Field Athlete of the Year after he won the Pac-12 high jump title for a second-straight year, and placed second in the long jump and third in the triple jump. His personal-best of 7-6 (2.26m) in the high jump currently ranks second in the nation. Ross will be competing at NCAAs in the high jump and triple jump.


ARIZONAÂ’s Fred Harvey was named the USTFCCCA West Region MenÂ’s Coach of the Year after leading the Wildcats to a No. 3-national ranking in the coaches poll heading into the NCA Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. In his 10th season as head coach in Tucson, Ariz., three of his Wildcats won titles at the Pac-12 Championships, nine competed in 10 events at the NCAA West Region Round and eight will compete in eight events in Des Moines.


STANFORDÂ’s Jason Dunn was named the USTFCCCA West Region MenÂ’s Assistant Coach of the Year. The CardinalÂ’s distance coach, Dunn has mentored Chris Derrick this season, as Derrick has gone to earn on a spot on the Bowerman Watch List and set the American collegiate record in the 10,000 meters. Stanford has also qualified three for the NCAA finals in the 10,000 meters, along with one in the 5,000 and one in the steeplechase.


OREGONÂ’s English Gardner (Voorhees, N.J.) was voted the USTFCCCA West Region WomenÂ’s Track Athlete of the Year. Ranked second nationally in the 100 meters, she ran a wind-aided 11.00 at the Pac-12 Championships to win the event for the second-straight year. She is also ranked third in the 200 meters (22.82), also winning the Conference crown at that distance, as well as helping the Ducks claim the 4x100-meter relay. Gardner will compete in the 100 meters and 4x100-meter relay in Des Moines.


OREGONÂ’s Brianne Theisen (Humboldt, Saskatchewan) in the nationÂ’s leader in the heptathlon. She scored the third-best score in collegiate history in the heptathlon at the Pac-12 Championships, scoring 6,353 points to win the league title for the third time and crushing the previous Pac-12 record. Theisen also cleared 6-0 (1.83m) in the high jump to rank in the top 10 in the nation in the event. She is also on the Bowerman Watch List.


OREGONÂ’s Robert Johnson, in his seventh year with the program, was named the USTFCCCA West Region Coach of the Year after leading the Ducks to a Pac-12 title by a large margin. The womenÂ’s team won the league crown by a margin of 76 points, posting 200.50 points, the second-highest point total by any team in Pac-12 Championship history. The Ducks are the only team to score at least 200 points, doing so twice in the last three years. The team has 19 entries at the NCAA Championships this week, the most of any womenÂ’s teams in the country. UO is ranked third in the nation.


USCÂ’s Dan Lange was named the USTFCCCA West Region Assistant Coach of the Year. The throws coach, he qualified five for the NCAA Championships, including three hammer throwers. At the Pac-12 Championships, the womenÂ’s hammer throwers scored 22 points, placing first, second and fifth. Marissa Minderler threw the fifth-best mark all-time by a Pac-12 athlete, achieving a personal-best mark of 220-11 (67.35m) and successfully defending her title in the event.


Pac-12 menÂ’s and womenÂ’s track and field athletes are headed to Des Moines, Iowa, this week for the NCAA Championships finals which will be held June 6-9 on the campus of Drake University. Live coverage will be carried on NCAA.com and ESPN3.com starting on Wednesday. ESPNU will air live coverage on Saturday, June 9 at 9 a.m. PT.


For more information, visit the USTFCCCA website at www.ustfccca.org.


- www.pac-12.org -



Natalia Ciccone
Assistant Commissioner, Communications
Pac-12 Conference
1350 Treat Blvd., Suite 500
Walnut Creek, CA 94597-8853
office. 925-932-4411
nciccone@pac-12.org
pac-12.org