Dec. 4, 2007

IRVING, Texas - Silje Fjortoft of SMU and Tulsa's John Beattie have been named Conference USA Female and Male Cross Country Newcomers of the Year, respectively, as voted upon by C-USA head cross country coaches and released by the conference office Tuesday.

Fjortoft, a freshman, was named the NCAA South Central Region Athlete of the Year and C-USA Freshman of the Year after strong performances at both meets. She clocked a winning 6K time of 20:35 at regionals, 11 seconds ahead of the field. The two-time C-USA Athlete of the Week selection took runner-up honors at the C-USA Championships with a 5K time of 17:46.0. Fjortoft capped off her rookie campaign with a 49th overall finish and was the third freshman to cross the finish line at the 2007 NCAA Championships, clocking a time of 21:11.00 on the 6K course.

For the second consecutive season, SMU and C-USA has had a student-athlete to win the NCAA South Central Regional title and earn athlete of the year honors from that region. In 2006, SMU's Rachael Forish was the champion, followed by Fjortoft in 2007. Forish, 2006 C-USA Female Athlete of the Year, went on to earn All-America honors at nationals.

Beattie transferred to Tulsa from the University of Southampton in Southampton, England. In his first season as a Golden Hurricane, the junior was TU's top-finisher in the three major meets - NCAA Championship, NCAA Midwest Regional and C-USA Championship. At nationals, he placed 127th with a 10K time of 31:22, after clocking a sixth-place time of 30:11 at the NCAA Midwest Regional. Beattie earned All-C-USA second team honors after crossing the finish line sixth with a time of 25:20. As a team, Tulsa placed 29th at nationals, fourth at regionals and second at the conference championship.