Merritt Earns Top C-USA Indoor Track Honor
March 24, 2005 | Men's Track and Field
IRVING, Texas -- Former East Carolina sprinter LaShawn Merritt and Charlotte distance runner Cassie Ficken were named the Male and Female Conference USA Indoor Track and Field Athletes of the Year, respectively, in an announcement made by the league office Thursday.
The athletes were selected by a vote of the conference's men's and women's head coaches.
Merritt established C-USA Indoor Championship records in both the 200-meter and 400-meter dashes in Houston with winning times of 20.91 and 46.75 respectively. The freshman also set a pair of junior indoor world records at the Powered by Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., on Feb. 11-12 with blistering times of 44.93 in the 400 and 20.40 in the 200. He earned a C-USA record four athlete of the week honors through the course of the indoor season.
Merritt, a Portsmouth, Va., native decided to pursue a career in professional track and field shortly after the C-USA championships by signing a contract with NIKE. With his decision, Merritt relinquished his NCAA eligibility.
Ficken earned the Athlete of the Meet honors at the C-USA Indoor Championships last month in Houston after winning the 3,000-meter and mile runs, while also running a leg for Charlotte's winning distance medley relay team. The junior earned All-America honors at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., with a seventh-place finish in the 3,000-meter run. The Conifer, Colo., native is the school's first female athlete to earn indoor All-America status.
