Monday, June 1, 2015
PORTLAND, Ore. – For the second year in a row the NCAA Division II national champion in the 800 meters has been selected the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Female Athlete of the Year.
Lindsey Butterworth of Simon Fraser claimed the NCAA title May 23 at Allendale, Mich., covering the metric half mile in a time of 2:02.88 and missing the NCAA national meet record by just fourth-tenths of a second.
A year ago, McKayla Fricker of Seattle Pacific won the 800 prior to being voted the GNAC Female Athlete of the Year.
Butterworth’s 800 time is the second quickest in GNAC history. SFU’s Helen Crofts set the GNAC record of 2:02.10 in 2013.
Prior to the national meet, Butterworth put together quite a resume for the 2015 season.
She finished the season with the nation’s best Division II time in the 800 and the No. 2 mark in the 1500. Her 1500 time of 4:18.34 on April 3 at Stanford ranks No. 2 all-time in the GNAC trailing only all-time Seattle Pacific great Jessica Pixler, who ran a 4:11.06 in 2010.
In the GNAC conference meet May 9 at Monmouth, Butterworth won the 800 meters in a time of 2:06.67 and also led the Falcons to a win in the 4x400 relay in a time of 3:45.64, the fifth quickest in GNAC history.
Also winning special awards were distance runners Jennifer Johnson at Simon Fraser and Caroline Kurgat of Alaska Anchorage and Seattle Pacific coach Karl Lerum.
Johnson, a senior from Corvallis, Ore., and the daughter of Western Oregon head coach Mike Johnson, was selected the GNAC Newcomer of the Year. Kurgat was chosen as the GNAC Freshman of the Year and Lerum was named the GNAC Women’s Team Coach of the Year.
Johnson, who sat out her final two seasons due to injuries at Georgetown before transferring last fall to SFU to work on post-graduate degrees, placed 13th in the NCAA national meet in the 5,000 meters, after winning the GNAC title in a time of 17:04.46.
She finished the regular-season ranked fourth on TFRRS with the second best time in GNAC history (16:26.59).
Kurgat placed 13th in the NCAA national meet in the 10,000 after placing third in the 10K and sixth in the 5K at the conference meet. Her season-best of 35:28.0 in the longer distance ranks 10th in GNAC history.
Lerum was selected the GNAC Women’s Coach of the Year award for the sixth time after leading the Falcons to their first team title since 2012. He also won the award and led SPU to conference titles in 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011 and 2012.
He has also won the Women’s Indoor Track and Field Coach of the Year award seven times - in each season after leading the Falcons to indoor conference titles in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2015.