Posted: May 20, 2015
FULLERTON, Calif. – Tyler Hardge of the Cal State Fullerton women's track and field team was honored with the Big West Women's Freshman Athlete of the Year award, the conference announced on Wednesday.
"We are thrilled for Tyler because she really deserves this recognition," head coach John Elders said. "She is one of the hardest working student-athletes we've had the pleasure of coaching, and has improved so much in such a short amount of time. We are extremely excited for Tyler's future as a Titan."
The freshman hurdler from Colton, Calif. burst onto the collegiate track in the first meet of her career, taking home first-place in the 100-meter hurdles at the Riverside Community College Open on March 7 after crossing the finish line in 14.21 seconds.
She would go on to take home six more first-place finishes between the 100m and 400m hurdles, saving her top time in the 100m hurdles for the Big West Championships at UC Riverside Track Facility on May 16. She finished third in the event with a season-best time of 13.81 sec. and used her 60.14 sec. finish to outpace the field in the 400m hurdles, earning the first individual Big West title of her career.
Hardge finished her first year in a Titan uniform ranked 49th in the NCAA West Region in the 400m hurdles and 63rd in the 100m hurdles.
