.png){kind=logo}
Three Vikings named USTFCCCA West Region Athletes of the Year
| 09 March 2010
March 5, 2010
BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Three Western Washington University athletes - men's pole vaulter Ryan Brown (Jr., Bellingham/Squalicum), men's miler Anthony Tomsich (Sr., Fairbanks, AK/West Valley) and women's long and triple jumper Emily Warman (So., Sedro-Woolley) - have been named United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association West Region Indoor Athletes of the Year.
It is the second straight year that Brown has been named West Region Male Field Athlete of the Year. He has cleared a national-best 17-1 1/2 (5.22 meters) in the men's pole vault, setting school and Great Northwest Athletic Conference records, and is a three-time conference champion in his specialty.
Tomsich, the region's Male Track Athlete of the Year, won the mile at the GNAC championships in a meet record time after setting a school record of 4:07.06 a week earlier. That clocking ranks 10th nationally. He also ran on the distance medley relay team that ranked 18th nationally in 9:59.93.
Warman, the region's Female Field Athlete of the Year, ranks sixth nationally in the triple jump. She broke her own school record with a mark of 39-11 1/2 (12.18) and is the defending national champion.
Warman also ranks 14th nationally in the long jump with a leap of 18-9 3/4 (5.73). Last year, she set a school record of 18-10 (5.74).
At this year's GNAC meet, Warman placed first in the long jump and second in the triple jump.
All three Vikings will be competing at the NCAA Division II National Indoor Track and Field Championships on March 12-13 at Albuquerque, NM.
Pixler, Braun, Pierre, Roberts, Miller and Thomas Among Division II Region Award Winners
Region honors go to best coaches and athletes in each of the eight USTFCCCA award regions
NEW ORLEANS - The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced on Friday afternoon 49 athletes and coaches that received regional awards for their efforts during the 2010 indoor track & field season in NCAA's Division II as voted by the nation's coaches.
Among the honorees are a bevy of athletes that will return to the NCAA Indoor Championships beginning next Friday to defend their title or titles in multiple events.
The regional track athletes of the year include Saint Augustine's Barbara Pierre and Seattle Pacific's Jessica Pixler. Pierre, the Atlantic Region Female Track Athlete of the Year, will attempt to win her fourth-consecutive 60-meter national title, having clocked a 7.18 in the event earlier this year. Pixler, the West Region Female Track Athlete of the Year, is also looking for a fourth-consecutive NCAA title in the mile.
Heather Miller of St. Cloud State, the Central Region Female Field Athlete of the Year, enters the NCAA Indoor Championships ranked in the nation's top three in the pentathlon, long jump, and triple jump. Miller won four conference crowns in the NSIC Championships to score 51½ points total.
Aaron Braun, the NCAA Indoor Champion at 5000 meters in 2009, won the Central Region Male Athlete of the Year title. Braun raced to a 13:42.22 in winning the 5000 meters at Washington's Husky Classic. His time is the best among all collegians, in all divisions, this season.
Ashland's Kurt Roberts is better than four feet up on the rest of the competition this year in the shot put, marking a toss of 64-4½ (19.62m) this season. Roberts, the Midwest Region Male Field Athlete of the Year, recorded the best toss in DII history with the mark and would rank second among all collegians this season.
Victor Thomas, the South Central Region Women's Head Coach of the Year, will return his Blue Tiger team of Lincoln (Mo.) to the NCAA Indoor Championships with a No. 1 national ranking. Lincoln scored 100½ points in 2009 to easily take the national title ahead of runner-up Grand Valley State's 48 points.