The 2008 edition of the Big West Track & Field awards were dominated by Long Beach State as the 49ers claimed four of the eight major awards in voting done by the eight conference coaches.
The men’s ledger of awards saw LBSU claim three of the four honors as Brent Gray was voted Track Athlete of the Year, Chris Richardson the Field Athlete of the Year and head coach Andy Sythe the Coach of the Year. Gray won the award for the second straight season, while Richardson won the honor for the second time in his distinguished 49er career. The other major award was claimed by Cal State Northridge as Reindell Cole was awarded Freshman of the Year accolades.
The Matadors claimed a pair of awards on the women's end as Sherrina Lofton garnered Track Athlete of the Year accolades, while head coach Don Strametz was named Coach of the Year for the third consecutive season. Cal Poly's Sharon Day bookended her career with the Field Athlete of the Year award after winning the honor as a freshman in 2005,while Long Beach State claimed its fourth award by virtue of Phylicia Johnson's Freshman of the Year honor.
Gray (Carson, Calif.) becomes the first athlete in Big West history to win back-to-back Athlete of the Year awards since Utah State's Bode Osagiobare claimed the two-peat in 1992-93. He is also the first athlete to claim two straight awards since the conference split the track & field Athletes of the Year in 2003. Gray had another outstanding performance at this season’s Big West Championships, claiming individual titles in the 100 and 200, as well as running legs on the first place 4x100 and 4x400-meter relays. Gray is an NCAA Regional qualifier in five events (100, 200, 400, 4x100, 4x400), is currently ranked fifth nationally in the 200 and stands second regionally in both the 100 and 200.
Richardson (Downey, Calif.), who redshirted a year ago, returned to competition in peak form this season on the way to his second Field Athlete of the Year award in three seasons. Richardson won the decathlon and javelin and placed fourth in the long jump at the Big West Championships. In the decathlon, he a posted season-high mark in each of the decathlon's field events and was a conference championship qualifier in six different events (high jump, long jump, shot put, javelin, 110 hurdles, decathlon. Richardson is also the school record holder in the decathlon, is an NCAA Regional qualifier in the decathlon and javelin and posted the "B" standard in the decathlon for the Olympic Trials.
Cole (Las Vegas, Nev.) becomes the first Matador to win Freshman Athlete of the Year honors in the four-year history of the award. The impressive rookie was a big-time performer for CSUN in his first season as he won the Big West Championship in the long jump (7.67m), was a finalist in both the 100 and 200 and ran the anchor leg for the 4x100 meter relay that set the school record at 40.01. Cole also made a splash on the national scene as his top long jump effort of the season is nation’s leading mark at 8.17 meters.
Day (Costa Mesa, Calif.), cemented her status as one of the top athletes in Big West Track & Field history with an impressive 2008 season to date. The senior was all over the conference meet as she won the high jump, long jump and heptathlon, while ranking third in the javelin and running a blistering anchor leg on the 4x400 meter relay team. Day's dominance was on display as she set the school, meet, stadium and Big West overall record in the high jump (1.95m), set the meet record in the heptathlon (5,642) and reached the Olympic Trials "A" standard with her effort in the high jump.
Lofton (Fairfield, Calif.) became the first winner of the Women's Track Athlete of the Year award from Cal State Northridge since the Athlete of the Year award was split into separate track and field awards in 2003. Continuing the recent brillance of CSUN female sprinters, Lofton claimed the Big West title in the 100 and 200 and ran legs on the Matadors’ 4x100 and 4x400 relay contingents that also won titles at the conference meet. Lofton owns the top time in the Big West in both the 100 and 200, both of which qualify her for NCAA Regionals.
Johnson (Gardena, Calif.) proved to be a consistent contributor to the LBSU women's squad in her first year of collegiate competition. At the Big West Championships, she placed third in the long jump and fourth in the 100 hurdles. Johnson's mark of 5.94 meters in the long jump was a personal best, while her 13.85 showing in the 100 hurdles qualified her for the NCAA Regional meet.
Strametz takes home the women's Coach of the Year honor for the fifth time after leading the Matador women's club to its third straight championship. Under the direction of Strametz, the Cal State Northridge women’s track & field team has won five Big West Championships while the 2008 edition posted the third-highest winning point total for the Matadors during their tenure in the Big West.
Sythe takes home the top men's coach honor after leading the 49ers to their second men’s title in three seasons and fifth overall. Prior to Sythe’s arrival, Long Beach State had not won the Big West meet since the 1976 season. He has also become the first LBSU coach to win multiple Coach of the Year honors, is coaching two current All-Americans in Brent Gray and Chris Richardson and led the 49ers to their second-highest point total at the conference meet in program history.
2008 BIG WEST TRACK & FIELD AWARDS
MEN'S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Brent Gray, Long Beach State
MEN'S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Chris Richardson, Long Beach State
MEN'S FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Reindell Cole, Cal State Northridge
MEN'S COACH OF THE YEAR
Andy Sythe, Long Beach State
WOMEN'S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Sherrina Lofton, Cal State Northridge
WOMEN'S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Sharon Day, Cal Poly
WOMEN'S FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Phylicia Johnson, Long Beach State
WOMEN'S COACH OF THE YEAR
Don Strametz, Cal State Northridge