NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Three TSU students have received major recognitions from the Ohio Valley Conference for their achievement in indoor track and field.

In the men’s rank, standouts James Faison, of Decatur, Georgia; and R’Lazon Brumfield, of Jacksonville, Florida, were recognized for their excellence throughout the indoor season.

Faison earned Male Ohio Valley Conference Track Athlete of the Year; while Brumfield earned OVC Co-Field Athlete of the Year and OVC Freshman of the Year.

In women’s track and field, earning Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Track and Field Freshman of the Year honors was rookie Angel Horton, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, for her standout season.

The conference announced the awards on Thursday.

Faison, a senior, ranks top four in three individual events heading into the OVC Indoor Championship. His times of 21.41 in the 200-meter and 48.07 in the 400-meter are the best in the conference, while his 60-meter time of 6.88 is good for fourth. This is the third time a Flying Tiger won the award for the indoor season.

Brumfield posted the season’s best triple jump distance among OVC competitors of 15.31m (50’2.75”) at the Dec. 2 Vanderbilt Opener. He is also tied atop the OVC with a long jump mark of 7.22-meter (23’8.25”) from the Vanderbilt Opener.

Since the award split to Track Athlete of the Year and Field Athlete of the Year in 2005, Brumfield is the second TSU male student-athlete to win the honor for the field events during the indoor season. The first was Buford Williams in 2007.

TSU’s men’s track and field has now won a total of 12 OVC Athlete of the Year awards – eight indoor, four outdoor.

For Horton, she is the second Tigerbelle to win OVC Indoor Track and Field Freshman of the Year and the first since Amber Hughes took home the honor in 2014. Dominique Ward (2005) and Amber Hughes(2014) also won the award for the outdoor season.

In her first season at the collegiate level, Horton currently ranks first in the OVC in the triple jump thanks to a distance of 12.34-meter (40’6”) at the Hoosier Hills on Feb. 9. The mark is tied for 78th best in the nation among NCAA Division I competitors.

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