BATON ROUGE — After leading her team to a second straight NCAA Indoor national title over the weekend, LSU sprinter Muna Lee was named the Mondo Division I Female Athlete of the Year, it was announced Tuesday by the United States Track and Field Association.
Lee, a junior from Kansas City, Mo., concluded a sensational 2003 indoor campaign at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., last weekend. At the meet, Lee became just the third women in NCAA history, and the first in nine years, to sweep the short sprint titles at the indoor championships meet, taking home gold in both the 60 and 200-meter dash events.
Lee won the 200-meter dash with an amazing time of 22.61, however turned in her most impressive feat of the meet during the preliminary rounds of the 200 meters. There, Lee clocked a blistering time of 22.49 to shatter the 21-year old collegiate record of 22.79 set by Nebraska’s Merlene Ottey in 1982. Her mark also ranks her as the world’s second fastest women in the 200 meters this season.
Lee then went on to win her second individual title of the meet in the 60-meter dash, registering a time of 7.17 to top the talented field. During the prelims of the 60-meter dash, Lee bettered her meet-winning mark, clocking a school record time of 7.15.
Lee and the rest of the LSU track and field team will return to action this weekend, March 22, when they begin the outdoor season at the SEC Four-Way Meet in Starkville, Miss.