The Regional Athlete of the Year awards are sponsored by Mondo, USA, the world's largest supplier of track & field surfaces. Mondo is the official provider of all tracks and equipment for the Track and Field Competitions for the Athens Olympic Games.
East Region :
Thomas Freeman, Manhattan (men) -- Freeman set new records at the NCAA East Regional in Florida by breaking the old hammer throw record by 14 feet. He is ranked first going into the championships after his toss of 71.12m. Freeman threw the furthest out of any hammer thrower at any other regional meet by at least ten feet.
Lashinda Demus, South Carolina (women) -- Demus, who was also named the Southeast District Athlete of the Year, set two East Regional records in both the 100 meter hurdles and the 400 meter hurdles. Demus ran a 54.77 in the 400m hurdles and a personal best 12.99 in the 100 meter hurdles. The six-time All-American also competed in the 4x100 relay, where she ran a great leg to get the Gamecocks in the top three.
Mideast Region :
Tyson Gay, Arkansas (men) -- Gay had a phenomenal night in all three of his races at the NCAA Mideast Regional as he captured the 100 and 200 meter dash titles and was also a member of the victorious 4x100 meter relay team. The junior clocked wind-aided times of 10.02 and 20.16 to capture both individual events. Gay then lead the Razorbacks to a time of 39.18 in the 4x100 meter relay which is the third-fastest time in UA school history.
Muna Lee, Louisiana State (women) -- Lee swept the 100 and 200 meter titles during the NCAA Mideast Regional in her last meet at Bernie Moore Stadium hosted by LSU. Lee clocked wind-aided times of a 22.22 in the 200 meters and an 11.00 in the 100 meters. A major threat in the national-leading 4x100 meter relay as well, Lee and the lady Tigers will have their eye on a national championship title next week in Austin, Texas.
Midwest Region :
Jeremy Wariner, Baylor (men) -- Wariner clocked a 44.50 in the 400 meters at the NCAA Midwest Regional and came from behind to just edge out teammate Darold Williamson at 44.51 for the title. Wariner's time marks as the top in the country and second-fastest in the world. Wariner also helped lead the Bears to the regional title in the 4x400 meter relay with their time of 3:04.22. They enter the NCAA Championships with a top time of 3:01.06 set earlier this season.
Sanya Richards, Texas (women) -- Richards followed her American Junior and school record-setting performance (50.49) from the prelim, with a 50.66 clocking in the finals to earn top honors in the 400 meters at the NCAA Midwest Regional. Richards also helped lead the Longhorns to a gold in the 4x100 meter relay with their time of 43.34 and the 4x400 meter relay at 3:32.62 which propelled them to the team title.
West Region :
Dan Ames, UCLA (men) -- Ames, who claimed the shot put, discus and hammer throws at the Pac-10 Championships, accomplished the same feat at the NCAA West Regional. The senior started his trifecta by first winning the hammer throw with a mark of 206-05, then the shot put with a heave of 64-03.25 and finally taking the discus with a throw of 189-04.
Ida Nilsson, Northern Arizona (women) -- Nilsson broke away in the final two laps of the 3000 meter steeplechase at the NCAA West Regional as the senior's final time of 9:43.25 set a new collegiate record. The multiple All-American in cross country and track and field looks for her first national title in the steeplechase next week in Austin, Texas as she earned runner-up the past two seasons.
----------------- Tom Borish USTCA Publicist - www.ustrackcoaches.org Webmaster - www.trackshark.com AOL IM - tracksharkweb
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