May 27, 2004
Cooksey named as region’s top athlete
University of Southern Indiana sophomore women’s track and field runner Heather Cooksey (Brownsburg, Indiana) has been named the Great Lakes Region Outdoor Track Female Athlete of the Year by the region’s coaches. She is the first in the program’s history to earn the award.
Cooksey posted NCAA II provisional qualifying times in four events during the spring, including an NCAA II automatic qualifying time in the 3,000 meters.
She finished the regular season ranked first in the nation in the 3,000 meters, sixth in the 5,000 meters, seventh in the 1,500 meters, and 23rd in the 800 meters.
Cooksey won the GLVC Outdoor championship in the 3,000 meters with the school-record time of nine minutes, 33.71 seconds and finished first in six of seven individual races she has competed during the outdoor season.
During the indoor season, Cooksey earned All-America honors in the mile after finishing third at the NCAA Championships. She won seven of the eight individual races she competed in, including a pair of conference championships in the 800 meters and the mile.
In cross country this past fall, Cooksey finished third at the GLVC Championships and fifth at the NCAA II Great Lakes Regional Championships, earning herself All-Conference and All-Region honors.
As a freshman in 2002-03, Cooksey was the GLVC Freshman of the Year in cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track. She earned All-America honors in both the 3,000 and 5,000 meters after finishing second in both events at the outdoor national championships.
Cooksey’s resume includes three All-America honors, eight All-GLVC honors, and one All-Region award. She has won six conference titles and has never lost an individual event at the GLVC Track and Field Championships.
Tonight, Cooksey will begin her quest to win USI’s first women’s national championship in school history when she competes in the prelims of the 3,000 meters at the NCAA II Outdoor Championships in Walnut, California. The finals are slated for Friday evening. She also will compete in the 5,000 meters, with the prelims scheduled for late Friday night and the finals Saturday evening.
Dan McDonnell,
USI Sports Information
