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Simpson-Sullivan Earns C-USA Female Field Athlete of the Year
6/21/2023 2:41:00 PM | Women's Track & Field
Following an incredible junior-year campaign, Rice women's track and field athlete Tara Simpson-Sullivan has been named the C-USA Female Field Athlete of the Year, the conference office announced Wednesday afternoon.
"Tara is such an outstanding person and she is so very deserving of this award," said head coach Jim Bevan. "She is an outstanding competitor, teammate, student and role model for our team. It has been a joy to watch her grow and improve in her time at Rice. I am so very happy and proud of her!"
Simpson-Sullivan becomes the fifth Rice athlete to earn athlete of the year honors and first for the field honor since Michelle Fokam earned the award three-straight times in 2018, 2019 and 2021 (no award in 2020). Grace Forbes won the track award in 2022 and 2021 while Daisy Ding (field, 2015) and Lennie Waite (track, 2009) also won their respective awards.
Simpson-Sullivan closed her 2023 season with First Team All-American honors after a fifth-place finish in the hammer throw at the NCAA Championships in Austin, her fifth All-American honor and second First Team All-American honor. She was also a Second Team All-American this year after a 14th-place finish in the weight throw at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Simpson-Sullivan grabbed her fifth and sixth C-USA event titles after sweeping the weight/hammer throws at the conference meets this year. Her personal-best throw of 22.18m in weight throw at the indoor meet also set a new C-USA meet record. She has now won five consecutive weight/hammer throw C-USA titles dating back to the 2021 C-USA Outdoor Championships.
"Tara is such an outstanding person and she is so very deserving of this award," said head coach Jim Bevan. "She is an outstanding competitor, teammate, student and role model for our team. It has been a joy to watch her grow and improve in her time at Rice. I am so very happy and proud of her!"
Simpson-Sullivan becomes the fifth Rice athlete to earn athlete of the year honors and first for the field honor since Michelle Fokam earned the award three-straight times in 2018, 2019 and 2021 (no award in 2020). Grace Forbes won the track award in 2022 and 2021 while Daisy Ding (field, 2015) and Lennie Waite (track, 2009) also won their respective awards.
Simpson-Sullivan closed her 2023 season with First Team All-American honors after a fifth-place finish in the hammer throw at the NCAA Championships in Austin, her fifth All-American honor and second First Team All-American honor. She was also a Second Team All-American this year after a 14th-place finish in the weight throw at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Simpson-Sullivan grabbed her fifth and sixth C-USA event titles after sweeping the weight/hammer throws at the conference meets this year. Her personal-best throw of 22.18m in weight throw at the indoor meet also set a new C-USA meet record. She has now won five consecutive weight/hammer throw C-USA titles dating back to the 2021 C-USA Outdoor Championships.
Players Mentioned
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Throws
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