Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Cox Earns All-Conference and Scholar-Athlete Honors
03/15/2001 | 12:00:00 | Cross Country
November 1, 2000
Southern Illinois University Carbondale women's cross country senior Becky Cox was honored by the Missouri Valley Conference Wednesday as she was picked one of 12 female runners to be named to the Valley's Scholar-Athlete Team. In addition to the honor, Cox also earned all-conference recognition last weekend after her 7th place finish (18:34.1) at the league championships in Terre Haute, Ind.
For Cox, she became the first SIU women's cross country athlete to garner the all-conference laurel since Kim Koerner established the feat in 1996. She also became the first MVC Scholar-Athlete the school has had in two years--the last being Kelly French in 1998.
"Becky started out as our number one runner and has been the backbone of our team this season," said head coach Don DeNoon. "She has been a real solid performer all along the line and it was good to see her get an honor such as this her senior year. A lot of good athletes have gone through here and haven't been able to reach the all-conference plateau since 1996 and I think that's something to be proud of."
Cox has been remarkable for the Salukis this season posting four top-10 finishes which rank as the most of any runner on this year's squad. Of those four finishes, Cox clocked a season best time of 15:19.09 at the 4K Stegemoller Classic Sept. 2--a race in which she placed first. Additionally, Cox's mark of 18:34.1 run last weekend at the MVCs currently ranks as her best 5K time on the year. Cox will also be one of four Salukis heading to the NCAA Midwest Regional November 11, an appearance in which she will make for the second time in her career.
An elementary education major, Cox holds a grade point average of 3.30 and was chosen seventh among the league's dozen scholar-athletes selected this season.
2000 Missouri Valley All-Conference Team
Coach of the Year--Chris Bucknam, Northern Iowa
Sarah Murton, Drake
Kari Thilges, Northern Iowa
Tracey Bearden, Drake
Rita Fiala, Northern Iowa
Elly Glass, Northern Iowa
Dana Holland, Southwest Missouri
Becky Cox, Southern Illinois
Adrienne Battle, Southwest Missouri
Lientjie Dekker, Wichita State
Jessica Crowder, Indiana State
2000 Missouri Valley Scholar-Athlete Team
1. Sarah Murton, Drake, Sr., 3.68, Biology
2. Kari Thilges, Drake, Sr., 3.17, Management
3. Tracey Bearden, UNI, Jr., 3.91, Psychology
4. Rita Fiala, UNI, So., 3.27, Elementary Education
6. Dana Holland, SMS, Sr., 3.63, Dietetics
7. Becky Cox, SIU, Sr., 3.30, Elementary Education
8. Adrienne Battle, SMS, Jr., 3.16, Elementary Education
9. Helena Dekker, WSU, Sr., 3.13, Speech Pathology
11. Ann Williams, Bradley, Jr., 3.90, Journalism
12. Teresa Grothus, UNI, Sr., 3.26, Math Education
