May 19, 2010
Irvine, Calif. - Cal State Fullerton junior Ciara Short today was named the Big West Conference Female Track Athlete of the Year for the 2010 outdoor season.
Short last week won the 200 and 400-meter races and also ran on both relay teams. She will be competing at the NCAA West Regional at Austin, Texas, beginning May 27.
Cal State Northridge, which won both the men's and women's team titles last week, dominated the Big West's post-season awards, earning five trophies today. Lance Gonzales and Desirae Gonder won Men's and Women's Field Athlete of the Year, respectively; Tiana Webberley claimed the Women's Freshman of the Year and Head Coach Don Strametz was named the Men's and Co-Women's Coach of the Year. Charles Jock of UC Irvine won the Men's Track Athlete of the Year. Cal Poly's Taylor Herrera won Men's Freshman of the Year and UCSB's Pete Dolan claimed the other half of the Women's Coach of the Year award.
Short, from Madison High School in San Diego, is the first Titan to win the Women's Athlete of the Year award. She has set three individual school records this season, establishing new marks in the 100 (11.66), 200 (23.70) and 400 (52.37), while also helping the 4x100 squad set a program mark. Short was a two-time winner at the Big West Championships in the 200 and 400, breaking the combined five-year run of Cal State Northridge athletes winning the events. Short also helped the 4x100 and 4x400 relay squads to second and fourth-place finishes at the league meet, respectively. She is the leader in the Big West in the 100, 200 and 400, ranks sixth in the West Region and seventh nationally in the 400 and ranks 28th in the NCAA in the 200. Short was also a three-time Big West Track Athlete of the Week, the most honors won by an athlete this season.
The only other Titan selected athlete of the year in track and field was Brandon Campbell in 2001, when there was no division between track and field. He was a high and long jumper and also ran various sprints and relays and eventually competed in the decathlon. &\#65532;