June 12, 2012
NEW ORLEANS - Fresh off a program-best finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, the Husky women's track and field and cross country program was today ranked an impressive third in the final Terry Crawford Program of the Year standings, announced by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. The USTFCCCA Program of the Year award, now in its fourth year of existence, is given to an institution that had the best combined team finishes in each of the NCAA's cross country/track & field sports in a given academic year. In order to qualify, a school must qualify and score points at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in November, the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in March, and the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in June. Only 16 programs qualified for Program of the Year inclusion. The Husky women were third behind only Oregon, which won the award for the fourth straight year, and Stanford. Washington finished ahead of Florida State, Texas, Arkansas, Arizona, Georgetown, Iowa State, and BYU in the top-10. This is the best finish for a Husky team in the four years of the program. It is the third top-15 finish for the women, who were ninth in 2009 and 15th in 2010. The Husky men's team has previously finished as high as No. 5, in 2010, and was 10th in 2009. "Finishing as the third-best program of the year is a tremendous accomplishment which we as a coaching staff are extremely proud of," said Husky Head Coach Greg Metcalf. "Even though only a few athletes score at the championships, it takes a total team effort and we took a lot of strides towards becoming a well-rounded group this year." Washington's first championship performance this academic year was on the cross country course in Terre Haute, Ind., where the Huskies were the NCAA runners-up, their third podium finish in the past four years. Moving indoors, Washington tied for 23rd at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Boise, on the strength of their NCAA Champion distance medley relay team comprised of Chelsea Orr, Jordan Carlson, Baylee Mires, and Katie Flood. Just this past week, the Huskies ended the year with an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, the highest finish in program history going back to the first NCAA meet in 1981. Flood captured the NCAA 1,500-meter title in her hometown of Des Moines, becoming the first Husky woman with multiple national titles in one year. Megan Goethals also placed second in the 5,000-meters by a mere .03 seconds, and Logan Miller was fourth in the pole vault, accounting for 23 total team points, the most for a UW team since 1988. The Terry Crawford Women's Program of the Year Award is named after USTFCCCA Hall of Famer and former Cal Poly head coach Terry Crawford. Crawford has won five NCAA National Championships, and over 20 Conference Championships. Scoring is based on the team's finish at each NCAA Division I Championship in cross country, indoor track & field, and outdoor track & field (i.e. 1st = 1 point, 2nd = 2 points, 31st = 31 points) with the lowest total score for all three championships combined determining the award recipient. Ties among schools split points for positions taken.
Program of the Year Award Standings (Top Five FINAL) 1 Oregon 8 pts |
