Moll, Houser Named West Region’s Best

SEATTLE – Newly crowned national champions Hana Moll and Luke Houser garnered more accolades today, as they were named the West Region Athletes of the Year for women’s field and men’s track, respectively. The honors were handed out by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
 
Moll (Olympia, Wash.) became the first freshman ever to win the women’s pole vault title, clearing 15-1 at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Boston last Friday to secure the victory. She was the NCAA’s top-ranked vaulter going into the meet, with a season-best clearance of 15-2 ¾ that ranked her No. 6 in NCAA history indoors.
 
She is the first Husky woman to win an individual NCAA title since 2012, and the first Husky to win the pole vault since Kate Soma won the outdoor title in 2005. The last Husky to win the West Region Indoor Women’s Field Athlete of the Year was another pole vaulter, Olivia Gruver, in 2020.
 
Houser wins the West Region Men’s Track Athlete of the Year award for the second year in a row, repeating as the award winner thanks to repeating as the NCAA Men’s Mile Champion. Houser ran the fastest non-converted mile time in the NCAA this year, running 3:51.73 to go to No. 4 in the NCAA all-conditions list. He then took down a stellar field in the NCAA final, taking the lead about halfway through the race and holding off all challengers to win in a time of 4:01.72.
 
The Woodinville, Wash. native became the 10th man in NCAA Indoor history to go back-to-back in the mile. He is the first Husky to successfully defend an NCAA title since Scott Roth won consecutive indoor pole vault titles in 2010-11, and he is UW’s first multiple NCAA Champion in a running event since Ryan Brown won two 800-meter titles (one indoors, one outdoors).