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Queen Harrison of Virginia Tech Honored by Coaches with The Bowerman
From U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Assoication (USTFCCCA)December 17, 2010
San Antonio, TX
In a night full of pomp and circumstance, elegance and entertainment, Virginia Tech's Queen Harrison and Oregon's Ashton Eaton received The Bowerman at the annual USTFCCCA convention held this year in San Antonio, TX. The Bowerman is awarded to the year's best collegiate track & field male and female athletes; Harrison is a hurdler at the Blacksburg, VA school. The other contenders for the women's award were distance ace Lisa Koll of Iowa State, and sprint/jump standout Blessing Okagbare of Texas-El Paso.
Queen Harrision (photo at left courtesy of Saucony), a native of Richmond, VA, became the first female in NCAA history to win both 100- and 400-meter hurdle national titles. In addition, Harrison won the NCAA indoor title in the 60m hurdles. Harrison, 22, recorded 2010 collegiate-best times in all three hurdle events spanning the indoor and outdoor seasons, and went undefeated in every final of those events. She also notched the fourth-best, all-time collegiate 100m hurdle time in winning the Penn Relays title (12.61). Harrison was named the USTFCCCA Southeast Region Track Athlete of the Year for both the indoor and outdoor campaigns. Queen Harrison placed second in the 2008 U. S. Olympic Trials women's 400m hurdles, and was seventh in her semi-final heat at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.In 2010, Ashton Eaton, a native of Bend, OR, netted a second-straight NCAA heptathlon title during the indoor season and a third-consecutive NCAA decathlon title outdoors. Scoring 6,499 points at the NCAA Indoor Championships, Eaton topped the 17-year-old world record held by Dan O'Brien. Twice during the indoor season, Eaton bettered the heptathlon collegiate record. Outdoors, Eaton scored more than 8150 points in each of his three decathlons, and set a new NCAA Championships meet record in the event. Eaton was the USTFCCCA National Field Athlete of the Year during the indoor season, and shared the award with Ryan Whiting outdoors.
Updated 12/21/10
From Saucony, Inc.
Lexington, MA
"This award is a true testament to Queen's talent, determination and work ethic," commented Mark Bossardet, vice president of sports marketing for Saucony. "The whole Saucony team congratulates her on this well-deserved honor. Queen is a phenomenally gifted athlete. Her competitive drive and inspiring personality make her a perfect fit for the brand, and we are extremely excited about her recent transition to the Saucony family. Together we look forward to the 2011 season, and ultimately London in 2012," said Bossardet.
The Bowerman is named in honor of legendary former University of Oregon coach Bill Bowerman, who also coached the U.S. Olympic track & field team at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Bowerman was a key figure in the National Collegiate Track and Field Coaches Association, the predecessor to the modern day United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
About Saucony, Inc.
Saucony, Inc., a subsidiary of Collective Brands, Inc., is a leading global running lifestyle brand that fuses performance, innovation and style to create compelling footwear and apparel with its widely recognized brands Saucony and Saucony Originals. Founded in 1898, Saucony continues to inspire runners everywhere with its award-winning innovations, including Flexion PlateTM, ProGridTM, Arch-Lock®, and ViZiPROTM apparel. For more information, see www.saucony.com.