Nov. 16, 2007
NEW ORLEANS - Winning never gets old for Sally Kipyego of Texas Tech and Coach Peter Tegen of Stanford. To varying degrees, the same can be said of all the athletes and coaches earning recognition as regional award winners for the Division I women's cross country season.
The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association today announced the women's coaches and athletes of the year for nine Division I regions.
Kipyego, a four-time NCAA individual champion in indoor track, outdoor track and cross country, is the Mountain Region Women's Athlete of the Year. The Texas Tech junior's undefeated season includes victories at the Big 12 Conference Championship and the Mountain Regional. Kipyego will defend her national title at Monday's NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, Ind.
Tegen's runners will also be defending a title Monday. Stanford has won the last two NCAA championships and is favored to make it three in a row. The Cardinal won three of the toughest meets of the year - Pre-Nationals, Pacific-10 Conference Championship and the West Regional - and is ranked first in the country.
This year's regional coaches and athletes for Division I women's cross country:
Great Lakes Region
Women's coach: Rita Arndt-Molis, Michigan State
The seventh-ranked Spartans are having an outstanding season. After a runner-up finish at the Big Ten Conference meet the Spartans followed up with a three-point win over Michigan at the Great Lakes Regional. Arndt-Molis has guided Michigan State to NCAA appearances in each of her four seasons as the women's cross country coach.
Women's athlete: Nicole Edwards, Michigan
Edwards won her second straight Great Lakes Regional title as the Wolverines finished just three points behind team champion Michigan State. She finished seventh at the Big Ten Conference meet and was 11th at Pre-Nationals. A junior from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Edwards finished 12th at last year's NCAA Cross Country Championships.
Mid-Atlantic Region
Women's coach: Sean Cleary, West Virginia
The 13th-ranked Mountaineers finished second behind No. 4 Princeton at the Mid-Atlantic Regional, the latest in a string of outstanding performances this fall for Cleary's team. West Virginia also won the first Big East Conference cross country title in school history. This is Cleary's third season as the Mountaineers' cross country coach
Women's athlete: Melissa Grelli, Georgetown
In a breakthrough season, Grelli clocked 19:50 for 6,000 meters to win the Mid-Atlantic Regional by eight seconds. She earlier won the Big East title and was fifth at Pre-Nationals. Grelli, a senior from Cupertino, Calif., will be making her first appearance at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.
Midwest Region
Women's coach: Gary Wilson, Minnesota
In a season of milestones for the dean of Big Ten cross country coaches, Minnesota won Big Ten Conference and Midwest Regional championships for the first time in school history. The fifth-ranked Gophers automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships, where they have an excellent shot at improving on last year's 11th-place finish. Wilson is in his 23rd season as Minnesota's cross country coach.
Women's athlete: Diane Nukuri, Iowa
Nukuri clocked a school-record 19:37 to win the Midwest Regional by 26 seconds. It was her second straight regional title. The Iowa senior also won the Big Ten Conference championship. Nukuri, a resident of Pickering, Ontario, competed for native Burundi in the 2000 Olympics. She finished eighth at the 2006 NCAA Championships.
Mountain Region
Women's coach: Bryan Berryhill, Colorado State
Berryhill's Rams defeated a strong field to win the Mountain Regional. No. 12 Colorado State also won the Mountain West Conference title and finished sixth at Pre-Nationals. Berryhill was a two-time NCAA champion and 10-time All-American in the middle distances for Colorado State.
Women's athlete: Sally Kipyego, Texas Tech
Kipyego's undefeated season includes victories at the Chile Pepper Invitational, Big 12 Conference Championships and Mountain Regional. Kipyego has won four NCAA titles in her collegiate career - 2006 cross country, 2007 indoor track (3,000 and 5,000 meters) and 2007 outdoor track (10,000 meters). She was the USTFCCCA Female Cross Country Athlete of the Year in 2006. Kipyego is a junior from Markawet, Kenya.
Northeast Region
Women's coach: Andy Ronan, Stony Brook
The Seawolves qualified for the NCAA Championships for the first time in school history by finishing second at the Northeast Regional. Two weeks earlier, Stony Brook won the America East Conference title, also for the first time. Ronan is in his eighth season as the track and cross country coach at Stony Brook.
Women's athlete: Danette Doetzel, Providence
Doetzel's first win of the season was a big one. She won the Northeast Regional by three seconds after a series of strong finishes that included a third place at the Big East Conference meet. Doetzel, a junior from Macklin, Saskatchewan, finished 14th at the 2005 World Junior Cross Country Championships.
South Region
Women's coach: Karen Harvey, Florida State
The second-ranked Seminoles dominated the South Regional in Harvey's first season at Florida State. Harvey brought Florida State its first Atlantic Coast Conference women's championship in late October. Harvey previously served five years as the head women's cross country coach at Illinois. She was an All-American in cross country and track for Michigan in the mid-1990s.
Women's athlete: Susan Kuijken, Florida State
Kuijken's 16-second victory at the South Regional was her fifth straight win of the 2007 season. She also claimed the Atlantic Coast Conference crown. Kuijken finished 27th at the 2006 NCAA Cross Country Championships and was second in the 1,500 meters at the 2007 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. She is a sophomore from Nijmegen, Netherlands.
South Central Region
Women's coach: Jim Bevan, Rice
The Owls made history when they won their first-ever regional championship. Rice upset Arkansas at the South Central Regional, 54-70, and is ranked 11th nationally heading into the NCAA Championships. The Owls set a Conference USA record in winning that title with a 26-point total. Bevan is in third season as the head track and cross country coach at Rice.
Women's athlete: Silje Fjortoft, SMU
Fjortoft got faster as the season progressed. After placing fifth at the Notre Dame Invitational, she was fourth at the Chile Pepper Invitational and second in the Conference USA Championships. She then won the South Central Regional title by 11 seconds, clocking 20:35 for 6,000 meters. Fjortoft is a freshman from Orsta, Norway.
Southeast Region
Women's coach: Laurie Henes, North Carolina State
North Carolina State qualified for its 13th straight NCAA meet by winning the Southeast Regional with 106 points. The 19th-ranked Wolfpack finished second at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships behind second-ranked Florida State. After serving 15 years as a North Carolina State assistant, Henes was named the head women's cross country coach last spring.
Women's athlete: Brianna Felnagle, North Carolina
Felnagle broke the 20-minute mark in winning the Southeast Regional in 19:53, seven seconds ahead of runner-up Emily Harrison of Virginia. Felnagle placed third at the Atlantic Coast Conference meet. A junior from Tacoma, Wash., Felnagle won the 1,500 meters at the 2007 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
West Region
Women's coach: Peter Tegen, Stanford
Tegen's Cardinal went through the season an unscathed No. 1, winning Pre-National, Pacific-10 Conference and West Region titles. Stanford will be shooting for its third straight NCAA women's cross country championship Monday in Terre Haute, Ind. Tegen has won four NCAA women's titles at Wisconsin and Stanford (two apiece)
Women's athlete: Teresa McWalters, Stanford
McWalters ran one of the best races of her career at the West Regional, winning the individual title by eight seconds as top-ranked Stanford claimed the team championship. McWalters, a senior from San Francisco, placed second to teammate Arianna Lambie at the Pacific-10 Championships.
