Concordia's Kayla Xavier (left) and Eastern Oregon's Robbie Haynie combined for six individual national titles, and have been voted the CCC's Track and Field Athletes of the Year.
Xavier, Haynie Earn CCC's Top Track Honors
PORTLAND, Ore. – Two student-athletes who combined to win six individual NAIA titles in 2011 have been voted the Cascade Collegiate Conference Track & Field Athletes of the Year.
Concordia University’s Kayla Xavier, a junior from Modesto, Calif., captured three NAIA titles in her first year with the Cavaliers to earn the women’s honor. Eastern Oregon’s Robbie Haynie, a junior from Nampa, Idaho, was the men’s selection after winning the heptathlon and pole vault at the NAIA’s indoor national championships and the pole vault at the NAIA’s outdoor meet.
The awards were voted on by the CCC’s head track and field coaches.
Xavier won the indoor national shot put title with her first attempt of the meet (then bettered her winning mark to 49-0 ¾ on her final attempt). She added shot put (51-1 ¾) and discus (163-10) crowns at the outdoor national championships. Xavier entered the outdoor meet ranked 15th in the discus. She also finished ninth in the hammer throw with a mark of 165-4. Her 20 points at the NAIA outdoor championships helped propel the Cavaliers to the team title, the first NAIA team championship in CU history. She was a three-time CCC Red Lion Athlete of the Week.
Haynie won the heptathlon (5,473, second highest score in meet history) and pole vault (16-8) at the NAIA indoor championships to win Field Athlete of the Meet honors. He came back to capture the pole vault title (17-6 ½) and finish second in the decathlon (6,839) at the NAIA outdoor championships. Haynie was a three-time NAIA Athlete of the Week and a five-time winner of the conference’s Red Lion Athlete of the Week honor.