TERRE HAUTE, IND. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of
Technology sophomore Liz Evans (Bicknell/North
Knox) earned her third career NCAA Division III
Great Lakes Region Field Athlete of the Year honor, in
results released by the United States Cross Country and Track
and Field Coaches Association on Tuesday.
Evans was also named NCAA Division III Great Lakes Region Field Athlete of the Year during the 2010 Indoor and Outdoor seasons, when she finished second nationally in the high jump at the Indoor National Championships. She added the 2011 NCAA Division III Indoor National Championship in the high jump to her national resume in March.
This season, Evans enters the NCAA Division III championships with the top seed in the high jump after clearing 5' 8 1/2" at the Ohio Wesleyan Invitational in April. She also reached the NCAA Division III national qualification mark of 5' 7 1/4" in four different meets this season.
Evans also captured three individual event championships at the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships and also served as the anchor leg for the winning 4-x-100 meter relay team. She established conference records in the high jump (5' 7 1/4") and the long jump (17' 3 1/4") with a performance that also set a Rose-Hulman school record. She added the triple jump title with a leap of 34' 5 1/2" that ranked second in school history.
Evans will be joined at the 2011 NCAA Division III Outdoor National Championships by five members of the men's squad. Senior Sutton Coleman (Lebanon, Va.) has individually qualified in the 110-meter high hurdles and the 400-meter intermediate hurdles. Senior Derek Bischak (Angola) added a qualification spot in the 1,500-meter run.
The 4-x-400 meter relay team of sophomore Brent Austgen (Cedar Lake/Hanover Central), senior Paul Bouagnon (St. Charles, Ill./Burlington Central), sophomore Tyler Hannan (Winchester, Ky./George Rogers Clark) and Coleman has also qualified for the Outdoor Nationals. The effort marks the first national relay qualification effort at Rose-Hulman since the 4-x-100 meter relay team qualified for the nationals in 1986.
Rose-Hulman's total of six student-athletes competing at this week's NCAA Division III Championships marks the most by the Fightin' Engineers since nine members of the team reached the 1986 Outdoor Nationals.
Rose-Hulman looks to continue its track and field legacy that features 39 NCAA Division III All-American awards and six national championship performances this weekend.