The University of Mississippi Athletics
McDonald Named SEC Freshman Field Athlete Of The Year
3/7/2011 | Track and Field
March 7, 2011
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - After a school-record showing at the Southeastern Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships, Ole Miss' Fabia McDonald was voted SEC Women's Freshman Field Athlete of the Year by the league coaches, it was announced Monday.
Placing high in all five events that make up the pentathlon, McDonald established a school record with her 3,922 points at the SEC Championships, surpassing LaToya McBride's previous school record of 3,852 set at the 2005 SEC Championships. McDonald finished fifth in a strong SEC field, but her mark was the best by any female freshman pentathlete in the country this year.
The Middletown, Ohio native ranks 17th in the nation this year in the pentathlon, a ranking which typically results in an invitation to the NCAA Championships. The NCAA field will be announced Monday evening.
At the SEC's in Fayetteville, McDonald did her best work in the 800 meters and the high jump. She finished third in the 800 with a time of 2:21.41 and also placed third in the high jump with a leap of 5-07.00. She placed fifth in the long jump, sixth in the shot put and eighth in the 60-meter hurdles.
She won the pentathlon at her very first collegiate meet with a score of 3,535 at the Arkansas State Kickoff Klassic.
