St. John's University Athletics
Kutu-Akoi Tabbed BIG EAST Track Athlete Of The Week
4/22/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
April 22, 2009
QUEENS, N.Y. - Red Storm senior sprinter Phobay Kutu-Akoi earned her second conference honor this season as she was named BIG EAST Track Athlete of The Week, announced by league officials on Wednesday.
Kutu-Akoi helped St. John's defended its title at the 2009 Outdoor Metropolitan Championships at the Overpeck Sports Complex on April 17-18 with her two event wins.
The senior raced to an individual title in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.78 seconds. In the preliminary heats, Kutu-Akoi crossed the tape first with a career-best time of 11.52 seconds. The time set a new school record in the event, which was previously held by Shernette Hyatt-Davis (11.55) in 2004. It also qualified her for the NCAA Championships, where the senior will represent the Red Storm for the first time in her four-year career.
Currently, the 11.52 second mark is the 26th-best time in the nation among all Division I athletes. It is also an unofficial Liberian national record, as Kutu-Akoi is a native of Liberia.
The senior was a double-winner at the Championships as she also placed first in the 200-meter dash with a career-best time of 24.16 seconds.
Kutu-Akoi also ran the second leg of the 4x100-meter relay squad who also earned 10 points for St. John's as the 2009 Metropolitan Champions. The 400-meter relay team crossed the tape at 46.08 seconds, which is .02 seconds away from a school record.
Up next, the Red Storm will look to continue its success at the annual Penn Relays. The meet is schedule for April 23-25 on Franklin Field in Philadelphia, Pa.
Players Mentioned
