Fresno State Athletics
Track and Field Holds Annual Team Awards Banquet
5/6/2004 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
May 6, 2004
FRESNO, Calif.- The Fresno State track and field program held its annual awards banquet on Thursday night at the Residence Dining Hall. The event honored current Bulldog student-athletes with team awards distributed by the coaching staff.Approximately 200 people attended the banquet, which also included the induction of Robert Foster and Melissa Price into the 2004 class of the Fresno State Track and Field Hall of Fame.
Foster, a seven-time WAC champion and two-time All-American, was an NCAA titlist in the 55-meter hurdles (indoor) and 110-meter hurdles (outdoor) in 1994. He also competed in the hurdles at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia.
Widely considered a pioneer for female pole vaulters in the United States, Price became Fresno State's first female individual champion after winning the NCAA Indoor pole vault title in 1998. A four-time WAC champion and three-time All-American, Price also captured the 1999 NCAA Indoor title.
Those in attendance also honored Fresno State Director of Track and Field Bob Fraley, who was awarded the 2003 U.S. Olympic Committee's Developmental Coach Of the Year honor over the weekend at the USOC's annual Coach of the Year recognition dinner. Fraley, the recipient of USA Track and Field's 2003 Nike Coach of the Year honor last December, was one of three coaches recognized during Sunday evening's dinner at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs.
However, the night's focus belonged to student-athletes on the Bulldog's current roster. Seniors Kara June (Santa Maria, Calif.) and Joe Vasquez (Selma, Calif.) were the big winners, collecting three awards apiece in addition to being recognized as a possible contender in two other categories.
The evening began with the captain's award. Seniors Vasquez and Trevor Chatterton (Concord, Calif.) were the men's recipients, while June and junior Lexine Lesser (Hanford, Calif.) were acknowledged on the women's side. Coaches awards were given to sophomore Matt Studwell (Manhattan Beach, Calif.), senior Jenny Moore (Upland, Calif.) and junior Annie Malaythong (Merced, Calif.).
Ryan Moore (Visalia, Calif.), David Endler (Fresno, Calif.) and Roy Phelps (Coalinga, Calif.) were named Most Outstanding Freshmen, while Zinzi Evans (Oakland, Calif.), Katie Richardson (Yreka, Calif.) and Mallory Webb (Dundee, Ore.) received the same honor on the women's side.
Vasquez chalked up two more awards when he was named Outstanding Male Field Performer for the second straight season and Linder Track Man of the Year. June defended her title as Outstanding Female Track Performer successfully and was also recognized as the Herzog Track Woman of the Year.
Junior Chris Berrian (Winton, Calif.) was named the Outstanding Male Track Performer, while sophomore La'Sha Hill (Oakland, Calif.) was tabbed Outstanding Female Field Performer.
With two meets remaining before NCAA Regional competition in late May, high point winners have yet to be decided. Six athletes were introduced as possible high point winners for 2004. Vasquez, Berrian and junior Russell Weaver (Fresno, Calif.) are contenders on the men's side, while June, Hill and junior Ocie Parks (Oakland, Calif.) are in the mix for the women's title.
Fresno State's male and female athletes of the year will be announced later this summer. The track and field program will select its two nominees from a pool that includes the following: Vasquez, Chatterton, Berrian, Weaver (men) and June, Richardson and Evans (women).
Next up for Fresno State will be an appearance at the annual Modesto Relays competition, which is scheduled for Saturday morning. The event serves as a final tune-up before the WAC Outdoor Championships get underway next weekend in Houston, Texas.
