U.S. Olympian Derek Miles to Receive 2007 Dan Lennon Award

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.usdcoyotes.com/sports/track/ ... SE_ID=3717

U.S. Olympian Derek Miles to Receive 2007 Dan Lennon Award

3/22/2007

VERMILLION, S.D. -- The South Dakota Track and Field program will honor U.S. Olympian and USD alumnus Derek Miles for his contributions to track and field during the Dan Lennon Invitational on Monday and Tuesday, March 26-27, at the DakotaDome on The University of South Dakota campus. The A Class session of the meet will open at noon on Monday with the B Class session set to begin at noon on Tuesday (full schedule below). On both days, the meet is expected to conclude by 8 p.m.

Miles will be the 2007 recipient of the Dan Lennon Award, which is presented annually to an individual who has made a positive and lasting impact on track and field in the Midwest. He will be presented the Lennon Award on Monday at approximately 4 p.m.

The Lennon Invitational, which will include more than 1,000 high school student-athletes from throughout the region each day, begins at noon and concludes at 9 p.m. with the A competition on Monday and the B competition on Tuesday.

"I think anytime you are recognized for your success in a field that it means a lot," said Miles. "It is an honor that I feel very good about. When you go about your business of preparing to be the best that you can be and then someone thinks enough of you to give you an honor than that is special. I know what Dan Lennon meant to the track program at this school and the impact that the invitational has on many young and talented student-athletes," said Miles.

Originally of Sacramento, Calif., and now living in Sioux Falls, S.D., Miles was inducted into the Henry Heider Memorial Coyote Sports Hall of Fame in fall 2006. Miles, who competes for the Bell Athletics/Nike Club, is one of three South Dakota graduates to compete in the Olympic Games.

At USD, Miles won the North Central Conference pole vault title in 1996 and finished fifth at the 1996 NCAA Division II indoor meet. He was third at the 1994 NCAA Division II outdoor nationals.

Miles earned an undergraduate degree in history and a master’s degree in athletic administration at USD in 1996.

One of the world’s top pole vaulters. Miles finished seventh at the Athens Olympics in 2004, and was ranked fifth in the world at the end of the 2005 season. He was ranked #2 in the U.S. by Track and Field News in 2005.

Miles owns a personal best of 19-2.50 that he set at the DakotaDome in 2005, which was the seventh-best vault in the world that year. Miles was the USA Indoor champion in 2003 and fifth at the World Outdoors, also in 2003. Miles was 10th at the USA Outdoor Championships in 2006 and was ranked 10th in the U.S. by Track and Field News.

He has also set up the Derek Miles and Friends Pole Vault Competition at his alma mater. The competition annually brings some of the world’s top vaulters (Jeff Hartwig, Toby Stevenson, and others) to the DakotaDome.

Miles is an inspiration to those in track and field with his dedication to helping young vaulters. One example is some of the advice he provided Sam Pribyl who won the NCAA Division II pole vault title last spring, becoming USD’s first ever pole vault titlist. Miles is married to former Coyote standout Tori Devericks.

[polevaulter08nw]

way to go!

[mllegatt]

Congrats Derek!