Rothoff Named Regional Assistant Coach of the Year

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Rodney Rothoff, who is completing his third year with the Sooner cross country/track and field program, has been named Midwest Regional Women's Distance Assistant Coach of the Year by the United State Track Coaches Association. He received the award Tuesday night at an awards banquet held on the eve of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Regional assistant coach of the year honorees were selected in each of the four regions designated by the NCAA for qualifying to the outdoor meet. Each region had a men's and women's assistant named for the various event areas in track and field.

Rothoff was selected in part because two of his women, sophomores Jessica Eldridge and Catherine Odell, will be participating in the NCAA meet on Thursday in the 1500-meter run. It marks the first time in school history for two Sooner women to qualify in the 1500.

The NCAA trip is the sixth consecutive for Eldridge who has qualified for the NCAA cross country, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field meets each of the two years of the program. The 2005 outdoor meet marks Odell's first trip to the NCAA Championship.

Eldridge, who won the 2004 NCAA Midwest Regional title in the 1500, finished second in the 2005 regional meet. She is ranked 13th heading into the NCAA meet with a season best of 4:20.74. She has proven this season that rankings mean little as she was ranked third heading into the regional meet before finishing second and finished sixth in the 800 at the Big 12 meet in only her second race of the season in that event. Odell is ranked 24th heading into the NCAA meet. She was ranked ninth in the 1500 heading into the regional before recording a career best in the final to finish third and earn a trip to the NCAA.

The relays have also had a successful season.The women's 3200-meter relay finished fourth at the Texas Relays with Eldridge, Odell, freshman Clementine McCutchen and sophomore Nicola Maye carrying the baton. The quartet recorded the seventh best time in school history. The women's distance medley relay, with Odell, Ashley Johnson, McCutchen and Eldridge as the foursome, finished second at the Texas Relays with the second best time in school history. Three weeks later, the women's DMR, this time with Odell, Terrika Warren, Maye and Eldridge making up the foursome, finished third at the Drake Relays with a school record time of 11:31.14.

In all, runners who trained with Rothoff during the outdoor season set 16 Sooner career bests and broke one school record.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Rothoff Named Regional Assistant Coach of the Year

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