March 11, 2008

View Division II Men's Indoor Regional Award Winners

Rains, Pixler Top a Strong Class of Division II Women's Indoor Regional Honorees

NEW ORLEANS - Minnesota State's Katelin Rains and Seattle Pacific's Jessica Pixler are among the female standouts honored as the best in their respective regions by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

The USTFCCCA selects the outstanding track athlete, field athlete and coach for the eight regions in Division II indoor track and field. Each of the 24 regional honorees will either compete or coach in the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships this weekend in Mankato, Minn.

Rains is the defending NCAA indoor champion and Division II record holder in the women's pole vault. Pixler is the defending national champion in the mile.

This year's regional awards for Division II indoor track and field:

East Region

Women's Track: Danielle Scardino, West Chester (Pa.) University
Scardino won three events at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championships, finishing first in the 55 meters, 200 meters and 55-meter hurdles. The Golden Rams' co-captain qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the hurdles with a best time of 8.74 seconds. She is a senior from Levittown, Pa.

Women's Field: Jennifer Hansen, Slippery Rock University
Hansen was named the top performer on the field at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference meet on the strength of her winning jump of 13-1½ in the pole vault. The Slippery Rock standout is a three-time All-American. Hansen placed second at last year's NCAA outdoor meet and is ranked second nationally this winter. She is a junior from Charleston, W.V.

Women's Coach: Dave Osanitsch, Shippensburg University
The Lady Raiders tied for first at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference indoor meet with Slippery Rock. Shippensburg's 4 x 400 relay team - consisting of two freshmen and two sophomores - qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships. Osanitsch is in his third season as Shippensburg's head track coach.

Women's Track: Jessica Pixler, Seattle Pacific University
The defending NCAA indoor champion in the mile, Pixler should contend for three titles this weekend in Minnesota. She has the nation's top times in the 800 meters (2:07.87) and mile (4:38.33) and is a member of Seattle Pacific's nation-leading distance medley relay. Pixler is a sophomore from Sammamish, Wash.

Women's Field: Omonike Kotey, Cal State University Los Angeles
Kotey has the nation's best mark in the triple jump (39-9¼) and will also compete in the long jump at the NCAA indoor meet. She finished fourth in the long jump at last year's NCAA indoor meet. Kotey is a senior from Mission Viejo, Calif.

Women's Coach: Karl Lerum, Seattle Pacific University
The Falcons won nine events en route to their fifth consecutive Great Northwest Conference indoor championship. Seattle Pacific's Jessica Pixler is the nation's fastest Division II performer in the 800 meters and mile. Five of Lerum's athletes qualified for the NCAA indoor meet. He is in his third season at Seattle Pacific.

Southeast Region

Women's Track: Erica Young, St. Augustine's College
St. Augustine's will defend its women's title at this weekend's NCAA indoor meet, and the Falcons are counting on big points from Young. She is seeded second in the 400 meters (54.49) and 10th in the 800 meters (2:13.61). Young will also anchor St. Augustine's third-seeded 4 x 400 relay.

Women's Field: DaMara Parrish, Bowie State University
Parrish was a one-woman show at the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association meet, scoring 32 points in leading the Lady Bulldogs to a second-place finish. Parrish qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 200 meters, long jump and triple jump. She is a senior from Severn, Md.

Women's Coach: George Williams, St. Augustine's College
At the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Championships, St. Augustine's gave Williams his 14th women's indoor title. The Falcons will defend their NCAA women's title this weekend. Williams, a member of the USTFCCCA Hall of Fame, has won nine NCAA women's indoor championships during his historic run at St. Augustine's.

South Region

Women's Track: Allison Kreutzer, Clayton State University
A four-time All-American, Kreutzer will be making her second appearance in the 5,000 meters at the NCAA Indoor Championships. She qualified with a time of 17:27.36. Kreutzer, a senior from Lilburn, Ga., placed fourth in the 5,000 at last year's NCAA outdoor meet.

Women's Field: Jana Mrozkova, Albany State University
After finishing third in the triple jump at last year's NCAA Outdoor Championships, Mrozkova has the nation's third-best mark (39-2½) entering this weekend's national indoor meet. Mrozkova is a senior from Trinec, Czech Republic.

Women's Coach: Mike Mead, Clayton State University
Mead is accompanying distance runner Allison Kreutzer and long jumper Jon Taylor to the NCAA indoor meet. This is Mead's 12th season as Clayton State's track and cross country coach.

Northeast Region

Women's Track: Letecia Taylor, Southern Connecticut State University
The two-time Northeast 10 Conference champion will compete in the 60-meter hurdles at the NCAA Indoor Championships. In addition to winning her conference title, Taylor placed fifth in the New England Championships in the 55-meter hurdles. Taylor is a sophomore from Plainfield, N.J.

Women's Field: Olivia Thibou, University of Massachusetts Lowell
Thibou triple jumped a career-best 38-11 to finish fourth at the New England Championships. That mark makes her the fifth-longest performer entering the NCAA Indoor Championships. Thibou, a sophomore from Boston, placed second in the triple jump and third in the long jump at the Northeast 10 Championships.

Women's Coach: Christopher Covert, Southern Connecticut State University
Nine first-place finishes helped the Owls win their second straight Northeast 10 Conference title. Three of Covert's female athletes qualified for the NCAA meet - sprinter Symone Wong, hurdler Letecia Taylor and triple jumper Dominique Burrell. Covert is in his first season as Southern Connecticut State's women's coach after serving three seasons as a men's assistant.

South Central Region

Women's Track: Jonel Rossbach Emporia State University
Rossbach will take the top time in the 5,000 meters (16:54.12) to the starting line of this weekend's NCAA Indoor Championships. At the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association meet, she swept the three longest races. Rossbach is a senior from Omaha, Neb.

Women's Field: Jessica Selby-Tallman, Missouri Southern State University
Selby-Tallman will try to improve on last year's second-place finish when she competes in the shot put at the NCAA Indoor Championships. She enters these nationals with the longest Division II throw in the country at 51-9. Selby-Tallman won the shot and weight throw at the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association indoor meet. She is a senior from Galena, Mo.

Women's Coach: Victor Thomas, Lincoln (Mo.) University
With a pair of NCAA women's indoor championships to his credit, Thomas takes another title contender team to this weekend's event at Minnesota State. Lincoln qualified eight individuals and its 4 x 400 relay team for the NCAA Championships. Thomas, a native Jamaican, is in his seventh season as Lincoln's coach.

Great Lakes Region

Women's Track: Kirby Blackley, University of Findlay
Blackley has the second-best Division II marks in the 60-meter hurdles (8.33) and long jump (19-4¾) entering the NCAA Championships. She won the hurdles and long jump, placed second in the 55 meters and ran on Findlay's winning 4 x 400 relay team at the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference meet. Blackley is a senior from Cincinnati.

Women's Field: Jennifer Tinney, Ashland University
Tinney will compete in both throwing events at the NCAA Indoor Championships after winning the shot and placing fifth in the weight at the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships. Tinney is the third-longest Division II performer in the shot put at 49-11¼. She is a senior from Norwalk, Ohio.

Women's Coach David Astrauskas, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Astrauskas is taking nine women to the NCAA Indoor Championships, a just reward for an outstanding season in which the Cougars won the Great Lakes Valley Conference title with 270 points. Deserea Brown will compete in four events (60-meter hurdles, 400 meters, long jump and 4 x 400 relay) at nationals. Astrauskas is in his second season as the head women's track coach at SIU Edwardsville.

North Central Region

Women's Track: Pinar Saka, University of Nebraska-Omaha
Saka leads all NCAA entrants in the 200 meters (24.49) and 400 meters (53.91) at this weekend's national indoor championships. She won both events at the North Central Conference meet. Saka is a junior from Istanbul, Turkey.

Women's Field: Katelin Rains, Minnesota State University
Rains, the Division II record holder in the women's pole vault, will shoot for her second straight NCAA indoor championship this weekend. She vaulted 14-0½ earlier this season to break the Division II mark she set at last year's NCAA indoor meet. At the North Central Conference Championships, Rains won the pole vault and triple jump. She will compete in both events at the NCAA meet. Rains is a junior from Spring Lake Park, Minn.

Women's Coach: Mike Thorson, University of Mary
Thorson was named the Northern Sun Conference men's and women's coach of the year after leading the Marauders to a pair of team titles. U-Mary qualified three athletes for the national championships. This is Thorson's 15th season as the head track coach at U-Mary.