In her first year with the Oregon track and field team, sprinter English Gardner made her presence felt throughout the team, Pacific-10 Conference and the nation.
The freshman from Voorhees, N.J., can now add Pac-10 Freshman of the Year honors to her already impressive resume, Commissioner Larry Scott announced late Monday afternoon.
Gardner set the Pac-10 Championships record in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.03, which broke UCLA’s Gail Devers’ mark set in 1987. She also placed second in the 200m at that meet, with a season-best mark of 23.03, the second-fastest time in Oregon history.
This past weekend, Gardner place second in the 100m at the USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships held at Hayward Field. She would have been a contender in the 200m as well, but decide to pull out of the race after feeling some tenderness in her knee, an injury sustained during the 4x100m relay at the NCAA Championships.
Elsewhere in the Pac-10 honors, Washington State’s Jeshua Anderson was named Pac-10 Men’s Track Athlete of the Year, while Arizona State’s Jordan Clarke earned Pac-10 Men’s Field Athlete of the Year honors. Nia Ali of USC was tabbed Pac-10 Women’s Track Athlete of the Year, and Arizona’s Brigetta Barrett was named Pac-10 Women’s Field Athlete of the Year.
Arizona’s Stephen Sambu was named Pac-10 Men’s Track and Field Newcomer of the Year, while Arizona’s Fred Harvey took home both men’s and women’s Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors.