BATON ROUGE — Freshman middle distance standout LaTavia Thomas has been recognized among the top newcomers in the conference for her performance during the indoor campaign as she was named the SEC Women’s Freshman Indoor Runner of the Year on Tuesday.
Thomas is the reigning Southeastern Conference champion in the 800-meter run as she captured her first career conference title in the event at the SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships on Feb. 25 with both a seasonal best and new personal best time of 2 minutes, 5.76 seconds.
The Philadelphia native completed the 800-meter double for LSU at the SEC Championships as fellow freshman Jamaal James won the men’s title in the half mile earlier in the same day. She finished the 2007 indoor season as the nation’s second-ranked freshman in her specialty event and No. 11 overall on the national descending order list with her season best time.
For her performance during the regular season, Thomas made her LSU debut at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., this past weekend in just her first attempt as a collegiate athlete as she just missed earning her first career All-America honor by finishing 11th in the event with a time of 2:07.51.
Thomas has as much potential as any freshman half miler in the country as she signed with the Lady Tigers in November 2005 as the nation’s top-ranked recruit in the event for the Class of 2006. She was a two-time member of Team USA at the IAAF World Junior Championships, while also winning a total of four national titles in the 800 meters during her high school career.
SEC INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD AWARDS
Women
Runner of the Year ? Kerron Stewart, Auburn
Field Athlete of the Year ? Patricia Stewart, Georgia
Freshman Runner of the Year ? LaTavia Thomas, LSU
Freshman Field Athlete of the Year ? Shara Proctor, Florida
Coach of the Year — J.J. Clark, Tennessee
Men
Runner of the Year ? Ian Burrell, Georgia
Field Athlete of the Year ? Corey Martin, Auburn
Freshman Runner of the Year ? Emmanuel Bor, Alabama
Freshman Field Athlete of the Year ? Mike Morrison, Florida
Coach of the Year — John McDonnell, Arkansas