by Larry Eder
In a very short time, due to the vision of USTFCCCA’s Sam Seames and the support of Nike, the Bowerman award has become the Heisman of collegiate track & field! Note the release from Saucony recognizing their athlete, Queen Harrison, who won the award from her amazing collegiate performances.
Queen Harrison spoke at the recent USATF Hall of Fame dinner, welcoming 1,100 delegates to her home state. We congratulate Queen and the USTFCCCA for developing this much needed award!
SAUCONY® ATHLETE QUEEN HARRISON WINS 2010 BOWERMAN AWARD
Virginia
Tech hurdler named college track’s top female athlete; Caps season of
stellar performances for Saucony track and field athletes
LEXINGTON, MA (December 17, 2010) – Saucony athlete and 2008 Olympian Queen Harrison is the female winner of the prestigious Bowerman Award
for 2010. Presented by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country
Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), The Bowerman is awarded to the year’s
best collegiate track and field athletes as voted on by the Bowerman Advisory Board and a handful of select media members. Harrison‘s
award caps a season of stellar performances for Saucony track and field
athletes as the brand continues its strategic build for London 2012.
Harrision,
a native of Richmond, Va., became the first female in NCAA history to
win both 100- and 400-meter hurdle national titles. In addition, Harrison won the NCAA indoor crown in the 60-meter hurdles. Harrison
recorded the 2010 collegiate-best times in all three hurdle events
spanning the indoor and outdoor seasons and went undefeated in every
final of those events. Harrison broke the Virginia Tech school record in the100-meter hurdles en route to winning the Penn Relays title (12.61). Harrison was named the USTFCCCA Southeast Region Track Athlete of the Year for both the indoor and outdoor campaigns. Harrison competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
“This award is a true testament to Queen‘s
talent, determination and work ethic,” said Mark Bossardet, vice
president of sports marketing for Saucony. “The whole Saucony team
congratulates her on this well-deserved honor. Queen
is a phenomenally gifted athlete. Her competitive drive and inspiring
personality make her a perfect fit for the brand, and we are extremely
excited about her recent transition to the Saucony family. Together we
look forward to the 2011 season and ultimately London in 2012,” said
Bossardet.
The
Bowerman is named in honor of legendary former University of Oregon
coach Bill Bowerman who also coached the U.S. Olympic track team at the
1972 Munich Olympics. Bowerman was a key figure in the National
Collegiate Track and Field Coaches Association, the predecessor to the
modern day United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches
Association (USTFCCCA).
The Bowerman Award is one of many accolades that Saucony athletes earned during the 2010 track season, including:
· In
June, Wallace Spearmon, Jr. became Saucony’s first athlete ever to take
home a U.S. sprinting title by winning the 200-meters at the U.S.
Outdoor Track & Field Championships. He capped the 2010 season as
the overall Diamond League 200-meter Champion.
- Saucony
athletes nabbed three national records during the 2010 season: Nikki
Hamblin, New Zealand (1500-meters); Deval O’Rourke, Ireland (100-meter
hurdles); and Molly Huddle, USA (5000-meters).
- Dee Dee Trotter (USA) won a gold medal at the 2010 IAAF Indoor World Championships 4X400-meter relay.
For more information, please contact Sharon Barbano at Saucony (617-824-6126), sharon.barbano@saucony.com or Jeff Lawrence at Mullen (617-226-9945), jeff.lawrence@mullen.com.
About Saucony, Inc.:
Saucony,
Inc., a subsidiary of Collective Brands, Inc., is a leading global
running lifestyle brand that fuses performance, innovation and style to
create compelling footwear and apparel with its widely recognized brands
Saucony and Saucony Originals. Founded in 1898, Saucony continues to
inspire runners everywhere with its award-winning innovations, including
Flexion Plate™, ProGrid™, Arch-Lock®, and ViZiPRO™ apparel. For more
information, go to www.saucony.com.
About Collective Brands, Inc.
Collective
Brands, Inc. (NYSE: PSS) is a leader in bringing compelling lifestyle,
fashion and performance brands for footwear and related accessories to
consumers worldwide. The company operates three strategic units
covering a powerful brand portfolio, as well as multiple price points
and selling channels including retail, wholesale, ecommerce and
licensing. Collective Brands, Inc. includes Payless ShoeSource, focused
on democratizing fashion and design in footwear and accessories through
its nearly 4,500-store retail chain, with its brands Airwalk®, Dexter®,
Champion® and designer collections Lela Rose for Payless, Christian
Siriano for Payless and Isabel Toledo for Payless, among others;
Collective Brands Performance + Lifestyle Group, focused on lifestyle
and performance branded footwear sold primarily through wholesale and
retail, with brands including Stride Rite®, Keds®, Sperry Top-Sider®,
and Saucony®; and Collective Licensing International, the brand
development, management and global licensing unit, with such youth
lifestyle brands as Airwalk®, Above The Rim®, Vision Street Wear®,
Clinch Gear™, STRIKEFORCE™, Sims®, Lamar® and LTD®, World Snowboarding
Championshipsâ„¢ and Hind®. Information about, and links for shopping on, each of the Collective Brand’s units can be found at www.collectivebrands.com.
