Smith, Pugh Earn District Awards

June 4, 2007

METARIE, La. - The honors keep rolling in for the University of Oklahoma track and field program.

The United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) named OU head coach Martin Smith the Midwest District Men's Coach of the Year and junior sprinter Marcus Pugh the men's track athlete of the year Monday.

NCAA Division I track and field coaches nominate and vote for the award.

Smith, in his second season as head coach, guided the Sooners to their first Big 12 Conference men's championship, the program's first conference title in 29 years. The Sooners then won their first Midwest Region title as OU qualified 14 men for the NCAA National Outdoor Track and Field Championships, the second most by any team.

Pugh won the 100-meter dash and was second in the 200 at the Big 12 Championship, as well as running legs on two relays, to lead OU in individual scoring. The Tulsa, Okla., native finished fifth in the 100 at the Midwest Regional and ran the second leg on the winning 4x100-meter

Pugh won a Big 12 title indoors in the 60-meter dash.

In the last week, Smith was named Big 12 Men's Coach of the Year by the conference office and assistants Jeremy Fischer (men's jumps/combined events) and Dana Boone (men's sprints/hurdles) were named Midwest region assistants of the year by the USTFCCCA.

The USTFCCCA announces the regional coach and athletes of the year Tuesday.

The NCAA Championships begin Wednesday, June 6, at the Alex G. Spanos Track Complex in Sacramento, Calif.

USTFCCCA DISTRICT HEAD COACHES OF THE YEAR

GREAT LAKES
Men's Coach: Brad Fairchild, Eastern Michigan
Women's Coach: Joe Piani, Notre Dame
MID-ATLANTIC
Men's Coach: Joe Compagni, Monmouth
Women's Coach: Beth Alford-Sullivan, Penn State
MIDWEST
Men's Coach: Martin Smith, Oklahoma
Women's Coach: Gary Winckler, Illinois
MOUNTAIN
Men's Coach: Greg Gensel, Utah State
Women's Coach: Dave Nielsen, Idaho State
NORTHEAST
Men's Coach: John Copeland, Rhode Island
Women's Coach: Lou Duesing, Cornell
SOUTH
Co-Men's Coaches: Bob Braman, Florida State, and Bill Webb, Tennessee
Women's Coach: Wayne Norton, Georgia
SOUTH CENTRAL
Men's Coach: John Sauerhage, Texas-Arlington
Co-Women's Coaches: Pat Henry, Texas A&M, and Dennis Shaver, LSU
SOUTHEAST
Men's Coach: Ron Mann, Louisville
Women's Coach: Dave Cianelli, Virginia Tech
WEST
Men's Coach: Don Strametz, Cal State Northridge
Women's Coach: Greg Kraft, Arizona State

DISTRICT TRACK AND FIELD ATHLETES OF THE YEAR

GREAT LAKES
Men's Track: Demi Omole, Wisconsin
Women's Track: Katie Erdman, Michigan
Men's Field: Michael Whitehead, Michigan
Women's Field: Bettie Wade, Michigan
MID-ATLANTIC
Men's Track: Sean Quigley, La Salle
Women's Track: Shana Cox, Penn State
Men's Field: Allen Pettner, Penn State
Women's Field: Tisifenee Taylor, Monmouth
MIDWEST
Men's Track: Marcus Pugh, Oklahoma
Women's Track: Yvonne Mensah, Illinois
Men's Field: Scott Sellers, Kansas State
Women's Field Brittany Riley, Southern Illinois
MOUNTAIN
Men's Track: Lopez Lomong, Northern Arizona
Co-Women's Track: Sally Kipyego, Texas Tech, and Lindsey Anderson, Weber State
Men's Field: Niklas Arrhenius, BYU
Women's Field: Ellie Rudy, Montana State
NORTHEAST
Men's Track: Max Smith, Providence
Women's Track: Morgan Uceny, Cornell
Men's Field: Rory Quiller, Binghamton
Women's Field: Jillian Drouin, Syracuse
SOUTH
Men's Track: Walter Dix, Florida State
Co-Women's Track: Kerron Stewart, Auburn, and Ajoke Odumosu, South Alabama
Men's Field: Cory Martin, Auburn
Women's Field: Jenny Dahlgren, Georgia
SOUTH CENTRAL
Men's Track: Leonel Manzano, Texas
Women's Track: Ebony Floyd, Houston
Men's Field: Andra Manson, Texas
Women's Field: Destinee Hooker, Texas
SOUTHEAST
Men's Track: Josh McDougal, Liberty
Women's Track: Natasha Hastings, South Carolina
Men's Field: Andre Black, Louisville
Women's Field: Anna Raynor, North Carolina-Wilmington
WEST
Men's Track: Galen Rupp, Oregon
Women's Track: Arianna Lambie, Stanford
Men's Field: Jake Arnold, Arizona
Co-Women's Field: Diana Pickler, Washington State, and Sarah Stevens, Arizona State

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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