COLORADO SPRINGS -- BYU junior Kyle Perry and TCU senior Virgil Hodge have been selected as the Mountain West Conference Men's and Women's Indoor Track and Field Student-Athletes of the Year, respectively.
Hailing from Sandy, Utah, Perry holds the season-best time and broke the MWC all-time record in the 3,000-meter run, crossing the finish line in 7:51.20 at the Husky Classic in Seattle, Wash., on Feb. 16. He also holds the league season-best time in the mile run, fulfilling his lifelong goal of breaking a four-minute mile on Feb. 2, at the University of Washington Invitational with a time of 3:59.16, which ranks second all-time.
Perry went on to place first in the mile at the MWC Indoor Track and Field Championships to take the crown in the event and subsequently earned individual all-Conference accolades, in addition to being a member of the BYU all-Conference distance medley relay team.
He was chosen as the MWC Indoor Track and Field Male Athlete of the Week three times throughout the duration of the season and earned all-America honors after finishing third in the 3,000-meter run at the NCAA Championships last week.
Hodge, a six-time all-America recipient and St. Kitts, Caribbean, native, finished her season earning multiple crowns at the MWC Championships. She crossed the finish line ahead of the field in both the 60-meter and 200-meter dashes for the second-consecutive year, earning herself the 2008 Women's Outstanding Performance award to accompany her two all-Conference performances.
Her Championship 60-meter time of 7.20 ranks fourth all-time in the MWC. Hodge earned all-America status after placing seventh at the NCAA Championship, recording a season-best time of 23.20 to become the only female in Horned Frog history to hold at least six such honors. The sprinter was named MWC Indoor Track and Field Female Athlete of the Week twice for the season and holds the 2008 best indoor times for the 60-meter and 200-meter dashes.
In its inaugural year, the Student-Athlete of the Year award recognizes the outstanding male and female athletes in the sport of indoor track and field. Student-athletes are nominated and selected by the head coaches at each member institution.