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HEATHER COOKSEY
Senior (Track) |
Overall
Heading into the 2008 track and field season, Heather Cooksey, USI's first female
national champion, is a 10-time All-American, 14-time All-GLVC
performer, and a three-time All-Region performer. She has finished first a
school-record 45 times--including 10 GLVC championships and one Great
Lakes Regional championship--and holds 17
school records. In addition to being the 2004 GLVC and Great Lakes Region
Cross Country Runner of the Year, Cooksey was a three-time GLVC "Freshman of the Year", the 2004
Little State Female Track Athlete of the Year, and the 2004 Great Lakes
Region Outdoor Track Female Athlete of the Year. She won her second straight
GLVC Championship in cross country in 2005 and became the first USI female
to win the overall competition of the Indiana Intercollegiate in 2005. She
also was named the GLVC Runner of the Year for the second straight time in
2005 in addition to being named GLVC Runner of the Week three times. Cooksey
was the 2004-05
USI/Integra Bank Female Student-Athlete of the Year and also was named the 2004 GLVC Scholar Athlete of the Year for women's track and field
as well as the 2004 GLVC Scholar Athlete of the Year for women's cross
country. Cooksey is a
six-time Academic All-GLVC performer. She was named second-team Academic
All-District V in 2004.
2005-06
CROSS COUNTRY: Won the GLVC Championship and was named the GLVC
Runner of the Year for the second consecutive season...was undefeated during
the regular season, posting a victory over eventual national champion Mandi
Zemba at the Loyola Lakefront Classic...became USI's first female runner to
win the overall competition of the Indiana Intercollegiate...posted a
school-record time of 20:44.78--time was converted from 19:54.78 due to the
length of the course--in the 6k at the GLVC Championships...posted a
school-record time of 17:09.00 in the 5k at the Loyola Lakefront
Classic...also posted victories at the UE Early Bird Invitational and at the
Saluki Invitational...in addition to earning All-GLVC honors, Cooksey earned
All-Region honors after finishing second at the NCAA II Great Lakes Regional
Championships with a 6k time of 21:22.80...was unable to finish at
nationals. INDOOR TRACK: Did not compete. OUTDOOR TRACK: Did
not compete.
2004-05
CROSS COUNTRY: Became the first USI female cross country runner to
win the GLVC championship and NCAA II Great Lakes Region
championship...finished 17th at the NCAA II Championships and earned
All-America honors in cross country for the first time...also earned All-GLVC
and All-Great Lakes Region honors...was USI's top finisher in every race,
taking home individual titles in five meets...finished no lower than fifth
in all but one meet...set a school-record in the 5k (17:12.86) at the
University of Evansville Invitational...also set a school-record in the 6k
(21:32.90) at the GLVC Championships...earned Academic All-GLVC honors. INDOOR TRACK:
Earned All-America honors in the 5,000 meters as well as the Distance Medley
Relay...finished fourth at the NCAA II Championships in the 5,000 meters
with an indoor school-record time of 16:39.48...ran the mile leg on USI's
DMR team that finished fifth at the NCAA II Championships with a
school-record time of 11:46.29...also helped USI's DMR team to three
first-place finishes, including a GLVC Championship...earned All-GLVC honors
in the mile and the DMR...finished first in four out of the seven individual
races she ran, including the mile at the GLVC Championships...posted a
season-best mile time of 4:54.56 at the Tyson Invitational as well as a
season-best and indoor school-record 800-meter time of 2:14.04 at the
McDonald's Invitational...finished no lower than fifth in every race she
ran...also competed once for USI's 4x400-meter relay team. OUTDOOR TRACK:
Finished third in the 3,000 meters and second in the 5,000 meters at the
NCAA II Championships, earning All-America honors in both events...also
earned All-GLVC honors in the 800 meters as well as the 1,500
meters...finished first at the league meet in the 3,000 meters and was
second at the GLVC Championships in the 800 meters, posting a season-best
time of 2:14.49...posted NCAA II automatic qualifying times in the 1,500
meters, the 3,000 meters, and the 5,000 meters and posted an NCAA II
provisional qualifying time in the 800 meters...placed first in the 5,000 meters at the Mt. SAC Relays
with a school-record time of 16:32.97...also finished first in the 3,000
meters at the Vanderbilt Invitational with a season-best time of
9:32.94...set a school-record in the 1,500 meters, finishing first at the
Little State Championships with a time of 4:26.15...earned Academic All-GLVC
honors.
2003-04
CROSS COUNTRY: Earned Academic All-GLVC and second-team Academic
All-District V honors for both cross country and track and field...earned
All-GLVC and All-Region honors...finished third at the GLVC Championships
and fifth at the NCAA II Great Lakes Regional Championships...finished 45th
at the NCAA II National Championships...recorded a season-best 6k time of
22:11.10 at the regional championships...won the Evansville Invitational
with a season-best 5k time of 18:01.03...finished in the top 10 in six races
and in the top five in five races...was USI's number one finisher in two
meets and USI's number two runner in six races. INDOOR TRACK: Earned
All-America honors after finishing third in the mile at the NCAA II
Championships with a school-record time of 4:46.44...earned a pair of All-GLVC
honors after winning GLVC Championships in the 800 meters and the
mile...finished first in eight of the nine individual races she competed
in...also qualified, provisionally, for the NCAA II Championships in the 800
meters...had a season-best 800-meter time of 2:16.53 at the GLVC
Championships...helped USI's Distance Medley Relay (DMR) team to a
first-place performance at the Tiger Invitational and to a second-place
performance at the GLVC Championships. OUTDOOR TRACK: Became USI's
first female national champion in any sport when she won the 3,000 meters at
the NCAA II Championships...finished six seconds faster than the
second-place performer at the national championships, finishing the event
with a school-record time of 9:32.76...also finished second in the 5,000
meters the following day at the NCAA II Championships...earned two
All-America awards for her performances at the NCAA II Championships...named
the GLVC Scholar Athlete of the Year for women's track and field as well as
the Great Lakes Region Female Track Athlete of the Year...earned All-GLVC
honors after winning the GLVC championship in the 3,000 meters...qualified,
provisionally, for the NCAA II Championships in four events (800, 1,500,
3,000, and 5,000 meters)...her 3,000-meter time of 9:33.71 at the GLVC
Championships was an automatic qualifier...had a season-best 5,000-meter
time of 16:46.79 at the Mt. SAC Relays...ran her fastest 1,500-meter time of
4:30.07 at the Gerald England Invitational and her fastest 800-meter time of
2:13.53 came at the Little State Championships where she was named the
Indiana Little State Female Track Athlete of the Year...finished first in
seven of the nine individual races she competed in.
2002-03
CROSS COUNTRY: Earned GLVC "Freshman of the Year" honors after
placing sixth at the GLVC Championships with a season-best 6k time of
22:42.00...also earned All-GLVC honors with her finish at the conference
championships...had a season-best 5k time of 18:49.90 at the Louisville
Cardinal Classic...earned Academic All-GLVC honors. INDOOR TRACK:
Earned GLVC "Freshman of the Year" honors after winning GLVC Championships
in the mile and the distance medley relay (DMR)...also earned two All-GLVC
awards for performances in the mile and the DMR (USI's DMR team set a
school-record with a 12:28.42)...ran the 1,600-meter leg of the DMR...Cooksey's 4:59.09 at the GLVC Championships
was a conference meet record...finished 11th in the mile with a
school-record time of 4:58.09 at the NCAA II Championships...holds the
school-record in the indoor 1,500 meters with a time of 4:44.8...finished
first in the mile with a time of 5:00.07 at the DePauw Classic. OUTDOOR
TRACK: Along with teammate, Jenny Farmer, Cooksey became the first female
competitor in the program's history to earn two All-America honors in the
same season...finished second in both the 3,000 meters and the 5,000 meters
at the NCAA II Championships...ran the 3,000 meters at the NCAA II
Championships in a school-record 9:39.16, less than three-tenths of a second
away from winning the national championship...was less than four seconds off
the lead in the 5,000 meters at the NCAA II Championships, crossing the
finish line in 16:52.31...finished first in the 5,000 meters at the
Hillsdale Gina Relays with a school-record time of 16:39.33...completed the
sweep of the GLVC "Freshman of the Year" honors, becoming the first USI
athlete to win GLVC "Freshman of the Year" honors three times...won the
3,000 meters at the GLVC Championships with a league meet record of
9:48.37...recorded a USI freshman record in the 1,500 meters with a time of
4:42.77 at the Little State Championships...won three championships during the outdoor season...earned
Academic All-GLVC honors for track and field.
HIGH SCHOOL: Graduated from Brownsburg High School...earned All-State honors in track...ran the 3,200-meters in 10:57 and the 4k in 14:34.
