C-USA Names Indoor Track & Field Athletes & Newcomers of the Year
March 27, 2008
IRVING, Texas - Tulane's Gloria Asumnu and Houston's Ivan Diggs have been named Conference USA Indoor Track and Field Female and Male Athletes of the Year, respectively, following a vote of the league's head coaches Thursday. Sophomore Blessing Okagbare of UTEP and Tulsa junior John Beattie have also been voted C-USA Indoor Track and Field Female and Male Newcomers of the Year, respectively. C-USA 2008 INDOOR TRACK & FIELD TOP HONORS ANNOUNCED Asumnu concluded her indoor career with All-America honors in the 60-meter dash with a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Championships. Asumnu became the league's first female to win four conference titles in the same event when she matched her 2007 performance of 7.22 in the 60m, which tied her championship record. She was awarded C-USA Performance of the Meet, along with Okagbare. The Houston native won the 200m (23.78) as well as ran the first leg on the gold medal 4x400m relay team (3:46.39). This marks the second time in C-USA history that Tulane won the women's indoor athlete of the year honor. Former Green Wave Alison Lambert won it in 1997. Houston men have claimed four C-USA Male Athletes of the Year honors in the league's 13-year history. Diggs, a senior from Houston, earns this year's award after recording an All-America performance in the high jump with a fourth-place clearance of 2.19m (7-02.25). He also earned a gold medal in the event at the C-USA Indoor Championships (2.16m/7-01.00) and was named the league's athlete of the week after setting a personal-best mark of 2.22m (7-03.25) during the Houston Opener on Jan. 15. That mark topped C-USA and ranked fourth best in school history. Okagbare, female newcomer of the year, transferred to UTEP after a year of college work in Nigeria. She captured All-America honors at the NCAAs with a second-place finish in the long jump (6.68m/21-11.0) and a fourth-place showing in the triple jump (13.57m/44-06.25). Her second-place finish in the long jump was a league best for an NCAA individual performance since 2001. She also became the first C-USA female indoor track and field athlete to earn two All-America honors in the same year since Houston's Jenny Adams did so in 2001. Prior to nationals, Okagbare established C-USA Championships and UTEP school records in the long and triple jumps.
Beattie wins Tulsa's first indoor track and field individual honor as a league member. The Southampton University (England) transfer finished second in the 5,000m (14:27.52) at the C-USA Championships and placed fifth in the 3,000m (8:29.32). He also posted the second fastest time in the conference in the 5,000m (14:21.16) and the third best in the 3,000m (8:17.35). Male Athlete of the Year Male Newcomer of the Year Female Athlete of the Year Female Newcomer of the Year |
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