Bowden, Fossen receive Big Sky Scholar-Athlete Award

CHENEY - After representing Eastern Washington University on national stages while excelling in the classroom, the track and field duo of Parker Bowden and Morgan Fossen are Eastern Washington University's recipients of the Big Sky Conference Scholar-Athlete Award for the 2020-21 school year, announced by the league office on July 15.

A Spokane Valley native and Central Valley High School graduate, Bowden graduated with his master's degree in Business Administration with a 3.94 grade point average. Fossen is a Medford, Ore., native and spent two years at Lane Community College after graduating from North Medford High School, earned her degree in Communicative Sciences and Disorders while boasting a 3.85 GPA.

Bowden won EWU's first-ever Big Sky title in the high hurdles with a 13.58 time on May 15 in Ogden, Utah., to earn the meet's male Top Performer honor and advance to the NCAA West Preliminary Round. His effort broke the meet record of 13.68, and was just .16 from the Big Sky all-time mark of 13.42. Coming into the season, his personal-best was 14.25.

Although his bid for the NCAA Championships came up short, his time was fast enough to receive an invitation to the United States Olympic Team Trials.

Bowden also owns the 60-meter hurdle school-record with a time of 7.94. He also earned All-Big Sky honors indoors in the 60-meter hurdles in 2020 (3rd, 7.94) and in 2018 (2nd, 8.00).

Fossen represented Eastern Washington at the NCAA Outdoor Championships this season in the pole vault. In the event at historic Hayward Field, she cleared 13-9 ¼, a new personal best that is second all-time in the EWU record books. The mark helped her finish 10th overall and earn second team All-America honors, becoming just the third female in NCAA Division I at Eastern Washington to earn All-American honors.

Fossen cleared 12-9 at the Big Sky Outdoor Championships to place second overall. Her previous personal best of 13-8 ½ that she cleared earlier in the season at Whitworth, helped her advance to the NCAA West Preliminary Round. At the regional meet, she vaulted 13-8 ¼ to punch her ticket to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore.

In 2017, Bowden won the Northwest Athletic Conference Championship (NWAC) in the 100-meter hurdles and Fossen brought home the pole vault title that same year at the NWAC Championships as well.

Academically, both Bowden and Fossen have been named to the Big Sky All-Academic teams in both the winter and spring multiple times in their careers.

The Big Sky Scholar-Athlete Award honors the "best of the best" of the conference's more than 3,500 student-athletes. One senior male and one senior female from each school in the league are recognized for their athletic and academic achievements.

To qualify for this award, the student-athlete must have exhausted his or her intercollegiate athletic eligibility and/or be a member of the graduating class, earned a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, been a participant in a Conference-sponsored sport, completed at least two years of intercollegiate competition at the institution, and have been a letter winner.