Dilling Named North Central Regional Field Athlete of the Year

For the second-straight year, the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) has announced that senior Jim Dilling (Fond du Lac, Wis.) of the Minnesota State University men's indoor track and field team has been named the North Central Regional Men's Indoor Field Athlete of the Year.

The defending NCAA indoor champion in the high jump, Dilling enters this weekends' national championships with the highest seeding in Division II at 7-feet, 6 1/2-inches - a height he cleared at the Wisconsin Elite Invitational on Jan. 27. Dilling also qualified for nationals in the long jump with his career best of 23-7 1/4.

A two-time NCAA champion in the high jump, Dilling won the 2006 national indoor title with a leap of 7-6 and set a Division II record. He also won the high jump at the 2005 outdoor NCAA championships and garnered runner-up status at the 2005 national indoor meet. He is a four-time All-American in the high jump and holds eight North Central Conference titles to his name in both the high jump and long jump.

With his senior outdoor season remaining, Dilling has already earned a total of 12 NCC Indoor Field Athlete of the Week titles. This past indoor season, he won every award possible (Jan. 16, Jan. 23, Jan. 30, Feb. 6, Feb. 13, Feb. 20). Dilling also earned the title twice during the 2006 indoor season (Jan 17, Jan. 24), during the weeks of April 4 and May 2 of the 2006 outdoor season, and he was honored during the weeks of Feb. 22 and April 12 as a sophomore in 2005.

--Courtesy MSU Athletic Communications