Seven Green Wave Earn All-Louisiana Honors
Jul 3, 2012 | Track & Field
July 3, 2012
NEW ORLEANS - When the Louisiana Sports Writers Association announced their 2012 All-Louisiana Track and Field squads, seven Green Wave student-athletes found their names among the state's best in their respective event. Estefany Cruz earned the only specialty award when she was selected as the Co-Freshman of the Year for her performance in the triple jump during the outdoor season.
The women's team grabbed five individual selections to the All-Louisiana squad and the men's team placed a pair of student-athletes on the team. Ana Ruzevic (Javelin) was the lone Green Wave performer to earn First Team All-State accolades, while Katherine Crabtree (5000 Meter) and Geoffery Zelek (10000 Meter) each earned Second Team All-State honors. Cruz (Triple Jump), Zandria Debowles (400 Hurdles), Melanie Mainor (High Jump) and Garrett Myer all earned a Third Team All-State nod.
Cruz had an outstanding rookie campaign for the Green Wave as she earned a spot at the 2012 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in the triple jump and earned Honorable Mention All-America honors. Her outdoor-best of 12.83 was the third best jump in school history and earned her Third Team All-State honors and her overall stellar season was good enough to bring home the Freshman of the Year award from the LSWA. The Guatemala City native became just the third women in Tulane history to clear the 13-meter mark when she landed a 13.03-meter leap at the Conference USA Indoor Championships. The rookie earned Second Team All-Conference USA honors during the indoor and outdoor campaigns, as well.
Ruzevic claimed First Team All-State laurels for the third straight season in the javelin and grabbed Second Team All-America honors in the event at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships hosted by Drake University. The Split, Croatia native narrowly missed breaking her own school record in the event when she posted her season best toss of 51.32-meters at the LSU Relays. That toss won the event and set the meet record in her second meet of the season. She defended her Conference USA crown in the event and finished the season 11th nationally in the event. Ruzevic was able to win four of her eight competitions in 2012 and posted six top-five finishes on the season.
A pair of distance runners grabbed Second Team All-Louisiana honors, with Crabtree claiming the accolade in the 5000 meter and Zelek in the 10000 meter. Crabtree earned her first nod to the all-state squad by setting her career-best time at the 5000-meter distance at the Conference USA Outdoor Championships. The junior covered the distance in 18:04.79 and ran under 18:15.00 three times during the season. Zelek competed in all three distance races during the 2012 season and was the first runner to compete in the 10000 meter since the program was brought back in 2008. His time of 35:25.29 was the second best mark in the state and came at the Conference USA Outdoor Championships.
Myer capped his career with a selection to the All-Louisiana Third Team in the decathlon as he set the school record in the event at the Conference USA Championships. The senior posted a score of 5,615 points at the conference summit to move his personal best up by nearly 500 points. He set personal bests in three events and scored team points at the C-USA Championship for the third straight season.
DeBowles makes an appearance on the All-Louisiana squad for the second straight season in the 400-meter hurdles and Mainor earns her first selection among the state's best. DeBowles qualified for the NCAA East Regional for the second consecutive year and posted a season-best time of 59.38 in her specialty event. The senior earned third team honors this season after being a second team pick last year. Mainor owned the team's top high jump mark and set a career-best mark of 1.70-meters to move her into a tie for fourth on the all-time charts at Tulane. The sophomore cleared 1.60-meters in four of her five meets and jumped 1.65-meters twice during the year.
The LSWA team is based on a list of the top three times or distances in outdoor events, which serves as the All-Louisiana team in each event, with the specialty awards voted on by the states sports writers and sports information directors.
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--www.TulaneGreenWave.com--| 2012 LSWA All-Louisiana Track and Field | |
| Men's Team | Women's Team |
| Men's Special Honors Track Athlete of the Year - Barrett Nugent, LSU Field Athlete of the Year - Damar Forbes, LSU Freshman of the Year - Aaron Ernst, LSU Newcomer of the Year - Jeff Milliron, Southeastern La. Coach of the Year - Dennis Shaver, LSU 100 Meters | Women's Special Honors Track Athlete of the Year - Kimberlyn Duncan, LSU Field Athlete of the Year - Chelsea Hayes, Louisiana Tech Co-Freshman of the Year - Estefany Cruz, Tulane and Ashley Aldredge, Northwestern State Coach of the Year - Dennis Shaver, LSU 100 Meters Kimberly Duncan, Jr./LSU Chelsea Hayes, Sr./Louisiana Tech Semoy Hackett, Sr./LSU 200 Meters Kimberlyn Duncan, Jr./LSU Semoy Hackett, Sr./LSU Chelsea Hayes, Sr./Louisiana Tech 400 Meters Rebecca Alexander, Sr./LSU Jonique Day, Sr./LSU Siedda Herbert, Jr./LSU 800 Meters Charlene Lipsey, Jr./LSU Samantha Levin, Fr./LSU Laura Carleton, Jr./LSU 1500 Meters Charlene Lipsey, Jr./LSU Laura Carleton, Jr./LSU Amy Talbot, So./McNeese State 5,000 Meters Laura Carleton, Jr./LSU Katherine Crabtree, Jr./Tulane Fionnuala Ross, Jr./McNeese State 10,000 Meters Fionnuala Ross, Jr./McNeese State 100 Hurdles Jasmin Stowers, So./LSU Shanekia Hall, Jr./LSU Kim Francis, So./Louisiana Tech 400 Hurdles Cassandra Tate, Sr./LSU Cosuela Lindsay, So./Northwestern State Zandria Debowles, Sr./Tulane 3000 Steeplechase Amy Talbot, So./McNeese State Kaithlyn Jeter, Fr./McNeese State Mary Kate Hays, Fr./Louisiana Tech 4x100 Relay LSU Louisiana Tech UL-Lafayette 4x400 Relay LSU Northwestern State Louisiana Tech High Jump Lynnika Pitts, So./LSU Danielle O'Donnell, Jr./UL-Monroe Melanie Mainor, So./Tulane Pole Vault Rachel Laurent, Sr./LSU Brittany Phantz, Jr./Southeastern La. Ashley Pfantz, Fr./Southeastern La. Long Jump Chelsea Hayes, Sr./Louisiana Tech Brittany Porter, Jr./LSU Kenyattia Hackworth, Fr./Louisiana Tech Triple Jump Jasmine Manuel, Sr./UL-Lafayette Michelle Ogashi, Sr./Southeastern La. Estefany Cruz, Fr./Tulane Shot Put Tori Bliss, Fr./LSU Micara Vassell, Jr./Louisiana Tech Marcella LeBlanc, Jr./Louisiana Tech Discus Samia Stokes, Sr./LSU Ashlee Smith, Jr./McNeese State Brieanna Kennedy, Sr./LSU Hammer Brieanna Kennedy, Sr./LSU Karen Henning, So./LSU Denise Hinton, So./LSU Javelin Ana Ruzevic, Sr./Tulane Ashley Aldredge, Fr./Northwestern State Annie SImoneaux, So./LSU Heptahlon Alexandria Gochenour, Fr./LSU Mariah Georgetown, So./McNeese State Kayla Fontenot, Sr./McNeese State |
Players Mentioned
