Rice track and field athletes Tara Simpson-Sullivan and Alexander Slinkman were recently named Conference USA Female and Male Athletes of the Year, respectively.
Simpson-Sullivan becomes the fifth Rice athlete to earn C-USA Field Athlete of the Year honors and the first since Michelle Fokam earned the award three-straight times in 2018, 2019 and 2021.
She closed her 2023 season with First Team All-American honors after a fifth-place finish in the hammer throw at the NCAA Championships in Austin, her fifth All-American honor and second First Team All-American honor. She was also a Second Team All-American this year after a 14th-place finish in the weight throw at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Slinkman becomes the fourth Rice athlete to be named Field Athlete of the Year and the first since Scott Filip won the award in both 2017 and 2018. Clayton Chaney and Jason Colwick also earned the conference honor.
Slinkman closed the 2023 season by earning Second Team All-American honors with an 11th-place finish in pole vault at the NCAA Championships. He also had a second-place finish at the NCAA West Prelims. At the NCAA Indoor Championships, Slinkman earned Second Team All-American honors after a 10th-place finish in pole vault.
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