June 5, 2007

Diana Pickler of Washington State and Sarah Stevens of Arizona State share one of the honors as the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association named the NCAA Division I Regional Athletes of the Year for the 2007 outdoor season.

Pickler, the national collegiate leader in the heptathlon, and Stevens, the national leader in the shot put and discus, are Co-Women's Field Athletes of the Year in the West Region. Pickler and Stevens are two of the top athletes competing in the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships that begin Wednesday in Sacramento.

Collegiate record-setters Walter Dix (Florida State), Lindsey Anderson (Weber State), Sally Kipyego (Texas Tech) and Jenny Dahlgren (Georgia) were honored in their respective regions.

The USTFCCCA selects men's and women's track and field athletes for each of the four regions (East, Mideast, Midwest and West).

EAST REGION

Men's Track: Walter Dix, Florida State

Produced one of the outstanding performances in recent collegiate history when he blazed 200 meters in 19.69 at the East Region meet, breaking the collegiate record set by Houston's Joe DeLoach in 1988 ... Dix won the 100 and 200 at the East Regional and finished first in the 200 at the Atlantic Coast Conference meet ... Runs on Florida State's collegiate-leading 4 x 100 relay (38.71)... Defending NCAA outdoor champion in the 200, two-time defending NCAA indoor champion in the 200 ... Won 100 at 2005 NCAA Outdoor Championships ... Dix is a junior from Coral Springs, Fla.

Women's Track: Natasha Hastings, South Carolina

Won the 400 meters at the East Regionals in 50.23, moving her to third on the all-time collegiate list ... Will also compete in both relays in Sacramento ... Anchors the 4 x 400 relay team that leads the NCAA list at 3:28.44 ... Hasings won the 400 and placed fourth in the 200 at the Southeastern Conference meet ... Won the 400 at the NCAA Indoor Championships in a collegiate-record 50.80 ... Finished sixth in the 400 at last year's NCAA outdoor meet ... Is one of four finalists for the Honda Sports Award ... Hastings is a junior from Rosedale, N.Y.

Men's Field: Adam Montague, North Carolina

Threw the javelin 242-4 to win the East Regional ... Leads all collegiate javelin throwers entering NCAA Championships in Sacramento ... With Montague and defending NCAA champion Justin Ryncavage, Tar Heels hold top two spots on national collegiate list ... Finished second to Ryncavage at Atlantic Coast Conference Championships ... Placed second at Texas Relays ... Competed in 2006 NCAA Championships as a North Carolina freshman but didn't qualify for final ... Montague is a sophomore from Townsville, Australia.

Women's Field: Jenny Dahlgren, Georgia

Defending NCAA champion set a collegiate record in the hammer, throwing 239-4 at the Spec Towns Invitational in mid-April ... Won Southeastern Conference and East Region titles heading into the NCAA Outdoor Championships ... Won last year's NCAA hammer title with a throw of 226-4, second-longest in meet history ... Won the 20-pound weight throw at 2006 NCAA indoor meet and finished second this year ... Dahlgren is a senior from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

MIDEAST REGION

Men's Track: John Yarbrough, Mississippi

Clocked 13.48 to win Mideast Regional in 110-meter high hurdles ... Has fastest collegiate time in country (13.43) entering NCAA Championships ... Placed second in highs at Southeastern Conference Championships ... Will be making his third trip to the outdoor national meet, placing fourth in 2006 ... His brother, Middle Tennessee hurdler Linnie Yarbrough, placed seventh in the highs at last year's nationals, making them the first brother combination to score in the highs in the same year ... Yarbrough is a junior from Houston.

Women's Track: Katie Erdman, Michigan

Ran a collegiate-leading 2:01.25 in the preliminaries of the Mideast Regional, followed with a 2:01.99 to win the final ... Won the 800 at the Big 10 Championships and placed second in the 1,500 ... Ran the first leg on Michigan's 4 x 1,500 relay that set a collegiate record at the Penn Relays ... Anchored Michigan to a collegiate record in the 4 x 800 relay at Penn Relays ... Erdman is a senior from Cadillac, Mich.

Men's Field: Cory Martin, Auburn

A key performer for fourth-ranked Auburn ... Leads all collegiate hammer throwers with a best of 234-4 entering the NCAA Championships ... Won Southeastern Conference and Mideast Region doubles in the shot put and hammer ... Fifth-longest collegiate shot putter at 64-5 ... Placed second in the 35-pound weight throw at 2007 NCAA indoor meet ... Redshirted the 2006 season after finishing fourth in the NCAA hammer in 2005 ... Martin is a junior from Bloomington, Ind.

Women's Field: Brittany Riley

Enters the NCAA Championships with a best hammer throw of 237-11, trailing only Jenny Dahlgren of Georgia on the all-time collegiate list ... Won Missouri Valley Conference and Mideast Region titles, the latter with a throw of 237-3, the third-longest throw in collegiate history ... Won the NCAA indoor championship in the 20-pound weight throw with a 83-10¼, the longest throw in the history of the event ... Riley is a junior from Flossmoor, Ill.

MIDWEST REGION

Men's Track: Leonel Manzano, Texas

Won the 1,500 meters at the Midwest Regional for the third straight year in 3:40.21, the fastest collegiate time of the 2007 season ... Also won the Big 12 Conference title in 3:41.60 ... Names most outstanding performer at Penn Relays after anchoring Longhorns to a pair of victories ... Won the mile at the 2007 NCAA Indoor Championships ... Broke onto the national scene in 2005 when he won the NCAA outdoor title in 3:37.13 ... Finished fourth in last year's NCAA outdoor final ... Manzano is a junior from Marble Falls, Texas.

Women's Track: Sally Kipyego, Texas Tech

Kipyego set a collegiate record this spring in the 10,000 meters (31:56.72) and also has the season's top time in the 5,000 (15:19.72) ... Will contest the 5,000 and 10,000 at the NCAA Championships in Sacramento ... Won the 2006 NCAA cross country title and captured the 3,000 and 5,000 titles at the 2007 NCAA Indoor Championships ... Won the 1,500 and 5,000 at the Big 12 Conference outdoor meet ... One of four finalists for the Honda Sports Award recognizing the top female track and field athlete in the country ... Kipyego is a sophomore from Marakwet, Kenya.

Men's Field: Scott Sellers, Kansas State

Cleared school-record 7-7¾ to win the Big 12 Conference title in high jump ... Was named the Big 12 Performer of the Year in men's track and field ... Won high jump at Midwest Regional (7-4½) ... Placed third at 2006 NCAA Outdoor Championships and third at 2007 NCAA Indoor Championships ... Sellers is a sophomore from Katy, Texas ... Was named National High School High Athlete of the Year in 2005 by Track & Field News.

Women's Field: Elly Rudy, Montana State

Qualified for NCAA Championships in pole vault with second-place finish at West Regional ... Has the second-highest mark of the outdoor season at 14-2½ ... Claimed her third straight Big Sky Conference outdoor title ... Won the NCAA indoor title in March with a 14-1¼ clearance to become the first Montana State female to win a national champion in track and field ... Rudy is a junior from Woodland Park, Colo.

WEST REGION

Men's Track: Galen Rupp, Oregon

Ran the fastest time ever by an American-born collegian in the 10,000 meters (27:33.48) and will contest that event at NCAA Outdoor Championships ... Won the 5,000 at the West Regional and won the 5,000 and 10,000 in leading Oregon's men to the Pacific-10 Conference title ... Placed third in the 5,000 at NCAA indoor meet in March ... Finished second in the 10,000 at the 2005 NCAA outdoor meet behind Arizona's Robert Cheseret ... Rupp is a junior from Portland.

Women's Track: Lindsey Anderson, Weber State

Anderson set a collegiate record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, clocking 9:39.95 at the Payton Jordan Invitational ... Won three events at the Big Sky Conference meet (steeple, 5,000 and 10,000) ... Won the steeplechase at the West Regional by more than 20 seconds ... Also qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 10,000 with a 33:16.12 clocking but will concentrate on the steeplechase in Sacramento ... Anderson is a senior from Morgan, Utah.

Men's Field: Jake Arnold, Arizona

Surprise winner of last year's NCAA decathlon title will be favored this time around ... Scored career-best 7,946 points at LSU Combined Events competition in late March ... Won second straight Pacific-10 Conference decathlon title in May, scoring 7,755 points ... Won the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title in the heptathlon and placed second in the 2007 NCAA Indoor Championships ... Arnold is a senior from Santa Rosa, Ca.

Co-Women's Field: Diana Pickler, Washington State, and Sarah Stevens, Arizona State

Pickler made a stunning breakthrough at Texas Relays, winning heptathlon with 6,205 points, an Olympic "A" qualifying mark and the best collegiate mark of the year by more than 300 points ... Won the Pacific-10 Conference title with 6,018 points, defeating twin sister Julie Pickler and two-time defending NCAA champion Jacquelyn Johnson of Arizona State ... Placed close second to Johnson in pentathlon at 2007 NCAA indoor meet ... At Pac-10 Championships last month, finished second in high jump and third in 100 hurdles ... Finished third in heptathlon at last year's NCAA outdoor meet ... Pickler is a senior from Sachse, Texas.

Stevens is the lynchpin of Arizona State's title hopes at NCAA Championships ... Has the nation's top collegiate marks in the shot put (60-4½) and discus (189-5) ... Will compete in three events at nationals: shot put, discus and hammer ... Seeded fifth in the hammer with best of 217-8 ... Won shot and discus and placed third in hammer at Pacific-10 Conference meet ... At West Regional, Stevens won discus and placed second in shot put and hammer ... Won the shot put at 2007 NCAA Indoor Championships on her final throw, defeating defending champion Michelle Carter of Texas ... Stevens is a sophomore from Fort Collins, Colo.