Ficken becomes the school's first-ever women's indoor All-American. |
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Cassie Ficken, Derrick Johnson Earn All-America Honors
March 12, 2005
Fayetteville, Ark. - Redshirt junior Cassie Ficken became the first woman in Charlotte history to earn Indoor All-American status, and senior Derrick Johnson became the school's first-ever All-American in a sprint event, as they competed in the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships at the University of Arkansas' Randal Tyson Track Center.
Ficken, the first-ever Charlotte athlete to even compete in a distance event at the NCAA Indoor Championships, made the most of her opportunity by finishing seventh overall in the 3,000-meter run to earn her All-American award. The race was extremely tight, with just 4.09 seconds separating Ficken from a national championship. She finished in a time of 9:26.90, edging out the eighth-place competitor by less than a tenth of a second (9:26.99).
Ficken, a native of Conifer, Colo., was the Conference USA champion in this event two weekends ago. She earned C-USA Championship Female Athlete of the Meet honors after winning three league titles. She becomes the first-ever female athlete to score points (2) at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Senior Derrick Johnson also earned his first All-American award at the meet, which was his first Indoor Championships appearance. "DJ" finished ninth in the 60-meter dash, missing the finals by one one-hundredth of a second. He finished behind one foreign athlete, extending him All-American honors as well.
Johnson clocked a 6.71 in the preliminary round, finishing just behind three athletes who posted 6.70's. Johnson was the first-ever sprint athlete, male or female, to race for Charlotte at the NCAA Indoor Championships. He competed in two events at last year's NCAA Outdoor Championships.
"It was a great championship for us," said head coach Robert Olesen. "We had two All-Americans at the same meet for the first time ever. We had our first ever indoor All-Americans in distance and sprint races. Sharonda Johnson missed by just one place. Looking at the way things went, `DJ' can improve his start over the way he did yesterday. Cassie now has the confidence to push the pace in the championship races outdoors. We should have even more exciting things in store for 49ers fans."
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Competing in her second NCAA Indoor Championships, junior Sharonda Johnson finished in a tie for 13th overall in the triple jump. The Raleigh, N.C. native posted the sixth-best distance by an underclassman, as seven seniors finished in the top 12. Johnson finished just out of the All-American race, as four foreign competitors finished ahead of her to give 12 athletes All-America recognition in the event.
"This marks the end of a historic indoor season," said coach Olesen. "We're ready to make some more history outdoors."
Before this weekend, Charlotte had only one indoor track All-American (Will Montgomery, long jump, 2002).
Overall, the track & field/cross country teams have now produced eight All-American athletes and a combined 12 All-America performances.
Ficken and Johnson join Montgomery with indoor awards, while the team boasts four athletes with a combined five outdoor All-American performances. Three cross country athletes earned a total of four All-America awards.
