Crouser tabbed Big 12 Outstanding Freshman of the Year
March 1, 2012 AUSTIN, Texas – Texas freshman Ryan Crouser was chosen as the Big 12 Indoor Track & Field Outstanding Freshman of the Year on Thursday. "It is a great honor to win this award in one of the best sports conferences in the nation," said Crouser. "There are so many great athletes in the conference and throwing may not be as mainstream as some of the other events so it is an honor to win in that aspect and bring more attention to the throwing events." Crouser, a native of Gresham, Ore., has had an extraordinary start to his collegiate career with the most recent accomplishment coming at last weekend when he won the Big 12 Championship in the shot put with a throw of 19.9m (65-3.50). He was the first Texas athlete to ever win the Big 12 shot put championship and just the third freshman to win the event. In just his second collegiate meet, Crouser broke a 30-year old school record in the indoor shot put with his season-best throw of 20.29m (66-7) at the Razorback Invitational. This came one week after he set the NCAA automatic qualifying mark with his throw of 19.72m (64-08.50) to win his first collegiate competition. He has won three of his four meets this season and is ranked No. 3 in the nation in the shot put. "It is not just me but a reflection of the program," said Crouser. "The coaches and the guys around me have helped me improve a lot this year. I am really happy to be where I am at heading into nationals." Crouser will compete at the NCAA Indoor Championships March 9-10 in Nampa, Idaho.
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