After another stellar campaign, UCF sophomore Octavious Freeman was named the Conference USA Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year, the league office announced Thursday. A native of Lake Wales, Fla., Freeman also won the C-USA honor as a freshman a year ago.
Freeman ended the NCAA Championships as a USTFCCCAA All-American in the women’s 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay. The sprint specialist collected a pair of silver medals. She placed second in the 100m with the third-fastest time in NCAA Outdoor Championship history and the eighth-best time in collegiate history of 11.00. The mark also set the school record and is the world’s third-fastest time of 2013 (11.00).
The 4×100 relay team crossed in 43.36 for runner-up honors. Freeman concluded the national meet with a seventh-place time of 22.92 in the 200m as the team placed a program and C-USA best fifth overall. It marked the best finish by non-BCS school in 13 years.
After winning two gold medals (100m/4x100m) and a silver medal (200m) at the C-USA Championships, Freeman appeared in Sports Illustrated’s Faces in the Crowd.
Freeman’s 2013 campaign is far from over. She will represent the United States at the upcoming World University Games in Russia.
Her C-USA honor marks the third-straight year that a Knight has been recognized as the league’s best athlete. Jackie Coward won the award in 2011.