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NCAA News Release
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NCAA Names Suzy Favor And Seilala Sua Division I Track And Field Most Outstanding Student-Athletes In Honor Of The 25th Anniversary Of Women's Championships
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For Immediate Release
Friday, May 12, 2006
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Contact(s)
Gail Dent
Associate Director of Public and Media Relations
317/917-6117
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INDIANAPOLIS --- The NCAA has announced that University of Wisconsin graduate Suzy Favor and University of California at Los Angeles graduate Seilala Sua have been named the NCAA Division I Most Outstanding Student-Athletes in track and field for their accomplishments in NCAA championship competition. The honor, which was bestowed as part of the NCAA's 25th Anniversary of Women's Championships celebration, takes into account outstanding NCAA championship performances over the past 25 years.
Favor, who also uses her last name of Hamilton, ended her collegiate career at Wisconsin with five NCAA titles. She was a four-time NCAA champion in the 1500-meter run, winning the event four consecutive years (1987, 88, 89, 90). In 1990 she also won the NCAA 800-meter title with a record setting time of 1:59.11, which still stands today. Overall, Favor Hamilton won nine NCAA titles between cross country, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field. She finished her collegiate career as a 14-time All American.
Additionally, Favor Hamilton won the Big Ten Athlete of the Year award four consecutive times (1987, 88, 89, 90). The conference award was eventually named after her and is now called the Suzy Favor Award. She also won the Honda-Broderick Cup Award, earned the NCAA Top Six Award and was an NCAA Woman of the Year.
Favor Hamilton graduated from Wisconsin in 1991 with a degree in graphic arts. She also is a three-time U.S. Olympian and is training to compete again in 2008.
Sua, the winningest athlete in NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships history, won an amazing six NCAA outdoor track and field titles during her career at UCLA. Sua won the NCAA discus throw title four consecutives years (1997, 98, 99, 00) and still holds the NCAA championship record with a throw of 64.26m (210-10). She also won the NCAA shot put title two years in a row (1999, 00).
Overall, Sua was a 14-time All-American and a two-time Pac-10 Women's Track and Field Athlete of the Year. She has been a member of two Olympic teams in the discus throw (2000, 2004), a four-time USATF national champion in the discus throw, a one-time USATF national champion in the shot put and a three-time world championships competitor.
Sua graduated from UCLA in 2001 with a degree in sociology and continues to train and compete professionally while she serves as a coach at UCLA.
In 1981, the NCAA began sponsoring women's championships, which opened the door to increased athletic and academic opportunities for female athletes. Today, the NCAA sponsors 44 women's championships in 20 sports, providing more than 150,000 women with an opportunity to compete for national titles each year.
An NCAA panel selected the most outstanding student-athletes in Division I track and field. The panel used historical data and championship results to make its decision.
The 2006 NCAA Division I Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships begin May 26. The finals will be June 7-10 at A.G. Spanos Sports Complex in Sacramento, California.
The following NCAA women's sports are celebrating their 25th anniversary during the 2005-06 athletic season: Division I and III women's field hockey; Division I, II and III women's cross country; Division I, II and III women's volleyball; Division I, II and III women's swimming; Division I, II and III women's basketball; National Collegiate women's gymnastics; Division I, II and III women's tennis; Division I women's golf; Division I women's lacrosse; Division I women's rowing; Division I and II softball; and Division I, II and III women's outdoor track.
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