Denise Sandbothe named South Central Indoor Regional Athlete of the Year

     Central Missouri State University senior Denise Sandbothe (Jefferson City, Mo.) was honored recently by the track & field coaches in the South Central Region, as she was named the female Indoor Regional Athlete of the Year.

Sandbothe is headed to the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships this weekend in Boston, Mass. She qualified in the pole vault and the 60 meter hurdles.

She won the conference title and broke the school record in both events. In the pole vault, Sandbothe turned in an MIAA-record height of 12 feet, 10 inches while automatically qualifying for nationals. She also ran her best time of the season in the 60-meter hurdles with an effort of 9.71 seconds.

Sandbothe and the other regional winners will be honored at the annual National Championships Banquet on Thursday evening, and is now in the running for National Athlete of the Year.