June 5, 2007
TEMPE, Ariz. - One day removed from awarding district honors to head coaches and student-athletes, the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) has announced its regional award winners with two members of the Arizona State University track and field program garnering recognition, the Association announced Tuesday.
Head Coach Greg Kraft, the 2007 USTFCCCA West District Women's Coach of the Year, was selected as the 2007 USTFCCCA West Region Women's Coach of the Year, giving him the honor for the second year in a row. Sarah Stevens, a sophomore student-athlete and finalist for the Honda Sports Award, was selected as the 2007 USTFCCCA West Region Co-Field Athlete of the Year for women's throws, sharing the honor with Diana Pickler of Washington State, after both women garnered the same honor at the district level.
Both Kraft and Stevens are candidates for national honors after earning both accolades. Coaches all over the nation voted on the eight district teams before voting again to determine the regional honorees. The national selections should be released following the conclusion of the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships later this week.
The USTFCCCA has handed out several honors to members of the Sun Devil track and field program in recent days as David Dumble, an assistant coach on the staff, was honored on June 1 as the 2007 USTFCCCA West Region Assistant Coach of the Year for women's throws before being named the 2007 USTFCCCA National Assistant Coach of the Year for women's throws on June 5. Both honors mark the second year in a row Dumble earned both.
Kraft, in his 11th year at the helm of the program, has kept his women ranked No. 1 in the nation all season (both indoor and outdoor) and guided them to their first national team title by winning the 2007 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., in March. Undefeated in scored team events this year, Kraft's women have won titles at the 2007 MPSF Indoor Championships, the 2007 NCAA Indoor Championships, the 2007 Pac-10 Conference Championships and the 2007 NCAA West Region Championships. Overall, Kraft will have 12 women competing at the NCAA meet this week in Sacramento, including defending heptathlon champion Jacquelyn Johnson and throwers Stevens and Jessica Pressley, both of whom are set to battle for titles in the shot put, hammer and discus.
Stevens, a finalist for the Honda Sports Award, has turned in a stellar sophomore campaign as she enters the NCAA Championships ranked No. 1 in both the shot put and the discus while standing fifth on the order lists in the hammer. The 2007 NCAA Indoor Shot Put Champion and sixth-place finisher in the weight throw at the indoor meet, Stevens also won the shot put and the discus events at the 2007 Pac-10 Championships on the same day, making her the first female athlete to win both throws on the same day and just the fifth to win both crowns in the same meet in conference history. At the regional meet, Stevens won the discus and took second in both the shot put and the hammer with her hammer mark setting a school record. Overall, her season best toss of 18.40m in the shot put is the second-best mark in the history of the Pac-10 Conference and ranks No. 8 on the all-time NCAA lists.
The Sun Devils that have qualified will head to the 2007 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships this week with competition taking place June 6-9 at the Alex G. Spanos Athletic Complex in Sacramento, Calif.
USTFCCCA Division I Regional Athletes and Coaches of the Year
West Region
Men's Track: Galen Rupp, Oregon
Women's Track: Lindsey Anderson, Weber State
Men's Field: Jake Arnold, Arizona
Co-Women's Field: Diana Pickler, Washington State, and Sarah Stevens, Arizona State
Men's Coach: Ron Allice, USC
Women's Coach: Greg Kraft, Arizona State
East Region
Men's Track: Walter Dix, Florida State
Women's Track: Natasha Hastings, South Carolina
Men's Field: Adam Montague, North Carolina
Women's Field: Jenny Dahlgren, Georgia
Men's Coach: Bob Bramen, Florida State
Women's Coach: Dave Ciannelli, Virgina Tech
Mid-East Region
Men's Track: John Yarbrough, Mississippi
Women's Track: Katie Erdman, Michigan
Men's Field: Cory Martin, Auburn
Women's Field: Brittany Riley, Southern Illinois
Men's Coach: Ron Mann, Louisville
Women's Coach: Dennis Shaver, LSU
Mid-West Region
Men's Track: Leonel Manzano, Texas
Women's Track: Sally Kipyego, Texas Tech
Men's Field: Scott Sellers, Kansas State
Women's Field: Elly Rudy, Montana State
Men's Coach: Martin Smith, Oklahoma
Women's Coach: Pat Henry, Texas A