LA's Kallifah Rosser and Chico State's Brooke Whitburn Tabbed CCAA Track and Field Athletes of the Year
SAN RAMON – Cal State LA junior Khallifah Rosser and Chico State's Brooke Whitburn were selected the 2016 Men's and Women's CCAA Track and Field Athletes of the Year, respectively, following a vote of the league coaches.
This year marks the fifth-straight in which a Cal State LA men's track and field athlete won the Conference's top award. Rosser follows former Golden Eagles sprinter Gregory Veals, who won the award the last three seasons with the program and Georgio Bryant, who won in 2012. For the second-consecutive year a Chico State women's track and field athlete has earned the Track and Field Athlete of the Year award. Last season, Whitburn's current teammate Olivia Watt earned the nod.
Rosser had a magical first season with the Golden Eagles, most recently winning the national title in the 400 meter hurdles at last week's NCAA Division II Championships. His time of 49.04 matched the Cal State LA program record, is tied for No. 5 in the United States, and ranks 12th in the world and has automatically qualified him for the U.S. Olympic Trials. He was named the West Region Track Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. Two of his victories came at the CCAA Championships where he claimed titles in teh 400 meter hurdles and ran a led for the winning 4x100 meter relay team. His time of 50.19 in the 400 meter hurdles not only set a new record on his home track, but broke nearly a 40 year Conference meet record of 50.30, which was set by former Cal State LA hurdler Sam Turner in 1977.
Whitburn, a native of Chico, posted eight personal best marks this season including in the Heptathlon (5,393 pts.), 200 meter dash (26.00), 800 meter run (2:22.74), 100 meter hurdles (14.65), High Jump (5-3.75), Long Jump (19-11.0), Shot Put (38-1.25), and the Javelin (139-1.0). She became the Conference's second High Point Award Winner and earned All-West Region honors after earning All-CCAA honors in the 100 meter hurdles and the Heptathlon, as well as recording fifth place finishes in the Long Jump and High Jump. Most impressively, Whitburn set a new school record and finished runner-up in the Heptathlon with her 5,393 point effort at the NCAA Track and Field Championships in Bradenton, Fla. last weekend.