June 19, 2007

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WALNUT CREEK, Calif. -- Lionel Larry of USC was named the Pacific-10 Conference Men's Track Athlete of the Year, while Trojan teammate Noah Bryant collected Pac-10 Men's Field Athlete of the Year honors. Alysia Johnson of CALIFORNIA was tabbed Pac-10 Women's Track Athlete of the Year, while ARIZONA STATE'S Sarah Stevens was named Pac-10 Women's Field Athlete of the Year, Commissioner Tom Hansen announced today.

USC swept the Newcomer of the Year honors as Ahmad Rashad was tabbed the Pac-10 Men's Track and Field Newcomer of the Year, while Shalina Clarke and Shana Woods were named Pac-10 Women's Track and Field Co-Newcomers of the Year.

Also announced were the Conference Coach of the Year honors. OREGON's Vin Lananna garnered men's Coach of the Year honors, while Arizona State's Greg Kraft was named the women's Coach of the Year.

It was the third time Lananna has been honored by his peers. He guided Oregon to the Pac-10 title, the school's third in five years, and eighth overall. The Ducks posted 114 points to narrowly edge Arizona State (111) and USC (110). Lananna earned his first two Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors while at Stanford in 2000 and 2001.

Kraft posted his second consecutive women's coaching honor after leading Arizona State to a successful defense of its Conference championship, then led the Sun Devils to their first-ever NCAA title. The Sun Devils scored 158 points to outdistance host Stanford (134.33) at the Pac-10 Championships, while tallying 60 points to edge LSU (53) at the NCAA Championships. In addition, Kraft was honored as the NCAA Division I Track and Field Coach of the Year by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Larry, a junior from Compton, Calif., collected top honors in the 400 meters (44.73) at the Pac-10 Championships, then went on to finish second at that distance (44.68) at the NCAA Championships. His 400-meter time is the eighth fastest in Pac-10 history. In addition, he anchored both winning relays at the Pac-10 Championships as the Trojans clocked 39.66 in the 4x100, and 3:07.36 in the 4x400. He is the ninth Trojan to be named Pac-10 Track Athlete of the Year, and the first since Ryan Wilson was honored in 2003.

Bryant, a senior from Santa Barbara, Calif., successfully defended his Pac-10 title in the shot put (20.29m/66-07.00), then captured the NCAA title as well (20.04m/65-09.00). Bryant's the first USC student-athlete to capture the NCAA shot put title since the legendary Dallas Long won three consecutive titles from 1960-1962. Bryant broke a 35-year old school record earlier in the season with a toss of 20.56m/67-05.50.

Johnson, a junior from Canyon Country, Calif., added the NCAA outdoor 800-meter title to the indoor title she captured earlier this year as she set a school record with a time of 1:59.29. It's the second fastest time in Pac-10 history and qualified her for the 2007 USA Outdoor Championships. Her points were instrumental in guiding California to is best finish ever in the NCAA Championships as the Golden Bears finished in eighth place. She also took top honors in the 800 meters at the Pac-10 Championships with a Pac-10 meet record time of 2:01.74.

Stevens, a sophomore from Ft. Collins, Colo., successfully defended her Pac-10 title in the shot put with a toss of 17.61m/57-09.50, then doubled with a victory in the discus throw (57.73m/189-05). She added a third-place showing in the hammer throw (64.97m/213-02) to earn 26 points in leading the Sun Devils to the defense of their Pac-10 title. She established a school record in the shot put with a throw of 18.40m/60-04.50 - the second best mark in Pac-10 history. At the NCAA Championships, Stevens finished third in the shot put (17.40m/57-01.00) and fourth in the hammer throw (65.75m/215-08) to help lead the Sun Devils to their first national title.

Rashad, a freshman from Flint, Mich., was a dual winner at the Pac-10 Championships, posting victories in the 100 meters (10.20) and 200 meters (20.56). He placed eighth at the NCAA Championships in the 200 meters.

Clarke, a freshman from Evanston, Ill., picked up 12 points for the Women of Troy at the Pac-10 Championships with an eighth-place finish in the 100 meters (11.66), a fourth-place finish in the 100-meters hurdles (13.70) and a third-place showing in the 400-meters hurdles (59.05). Woods, a freshman from Long Beach, Calif., finished fifth in the heptathlon (5,459) at the Pac-10's, then was the top freshman at the NCAA's with 13th-place finish (5,507 - third all-time point total in USC history).

The honors were decided by a vote of the Conference's track and field coaches.