Track & Field | 3/4/2011 4:19:32 PM

MONMOUTH, Ore. - Chris Reed of the Western Oregon University track and field team was named the NCAA Division II West Region Track Athlete of the Year for the 2011 indoor track and field season by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), Friday (Mar. 4).

Reed, a senior from Klamath Falls, Ore. (Klamath Union High School), achieved the seventh-fastest regular-season mark in the mile at 4:09.39. The time is also a school record and ranks second in Great Northwest Athletic Conference history. He also runs the anchor leg on Western Oregon's sixth-ranked distance medley relay and is the 2011 GNAC Indoor champion in the mile.

Reed helped guide the Western Oregon men's track & field team to its fourth straight GNAC Indoor Championship. He registered 18 points as he won the mile and placed third in the 800m.

Reed has also excelled in the classroom as a double major in Economics and Business. He was named to the GNAC All-Academic cross country team with a 3.21 grade point average.

Reed earned an NCAA provisional time in the mile but chose to forgo the opportunity to run the event at Nationals, but instead Reed and his teammates have decided to focus their efforts on the distance medley relay, which the Western Oregon team will be competing in DMR at Nationals on Mar. 11 at 7:45 p.m. (MST).