Nov. 16, 2007
NEW ORLEANS - John McDonnell of Arkansas and Josh McDougal of Liberty lead a select group of coaches and athletes being honored as regional award winners for the Division I men's cross country season.
The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association announced today the men's coaches and athletes of the year for nine Division I regions.
McDonnell, the legendary Arkansas coach who has won 11 NCAA cross country championships, is the South Central Region Men's Coach of the Year. The USTFCCCA Hall of Famer led the seventh-ranked Razorbacks to their 18th straight regional title.
McDougal is the Southeast Region Men's Athlete of the Year. The Liberty senior won his third regional title Saturday in Louisville.
Each of the men's coaches and athletes of the year advanced to Monday's NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, Ind. Mark Wetmore of defending NCAA champion Colorado is the Chick Hislop Mountain Region Men's Coach of the Year.
This year's regional award winners for Division I men's cross country:
Great Lakes Region
Men's coach: Ron Warhurst, Michigan
The Wolverines ran their best race of the season in tying Wisconsin for first place at the Great Lakes Regional. Two weeks earlier, Michigan finished fifth at the Big Ten Conference meet, 71 points behind Wisconsin. Michigan's men will be making their first NCAA appearance since 2004. Warhurst is in his 34th season as the men's cross country coach in Ann Arbor.
Men's athlete: Patrick Smyth, Notre Dame
Smyth won the Great Lakes Regional with authority, finishing 16 seconds ahead of the runner-up, Wisconsin's Matt Withrow. Smyth also placed fifth at Pre-Nationals and finished third at the Big East Conference Championships for the second year in a row. He is a junior from Salt Lake City.
Mid-Atlantic Region
The Harry Groves Mid-Atlantic Region Men's Coach of the Year:
Pat Henner, Georgetown
Georgetown ran away with the Mid-Atlantic Region championship, finishing 28 points in front of Villanova. Henner's Hoyas placed six runners in the top 15. Georgetown's season included a runner-up finish at the Big East Conference meet and a victory at the Princeton Invitational. Henner has two top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships in his nine seasons as the men's cross country coach.
Men's athlete: Bobby Curtis, Villanova
The latest in a long line of standout Villanova, runners, Curtis dominated the Mid-Atlantic Regional, clocking 30:08 to win by 10 seconds. He set a course record to win the Big East Conference title in his hometown of Louisville. Curtis also finished first at the Haverford and Paul Short meets. He is a senior.
Midwest Region
The Roy Griak Midwest Region Men's Coach of the Year:
Dave Smith, Oklahoma State
With his top five runners placing 7-8-9-11-12, Smith guided the ninth-ranked Cowboys to their third straight victory at the Midwest Regional. Oklahoma State finished second to Colorado at the Big 12 Championships. This is Smith's first season as the men's cross country coach at Oklahoma State. He was a Big Ten Conference champion in the 10,000 meters as a Michigan State undergraduate.
Men's athlete: Trent Hoerr, Illinois
Hoerr clocked a personal-best 29:56 to win the Midwest Regional title by one second over Minnesota's Hassan Mead. Hoerr placed third at the Big Ten Championships and finished 13th at Pre-Nationals. Hoerr, a senior from Morton, Ill., will attempt to become the first Illini male runner to earn All-America honors since 1990.
Mountain Region
The Chick Hislop Men's Mountain Region Men's Coach of the Year:
Mark Wetmore, Colorado
The NCAA champions are surging as they head into their title defense, winning the Big 12 Conference and Mountain Region championships. At regionals, Colorado defeated teams then ranked second and third in the nation (Northern Arizona and UTEP). Now in his 13th season in Boulder, Wetmore is the only Division I coach to win all four NCAA titles - men's and women's team, men's and women's individual - at the same school.
Men's athlete: Lopez Lomong, Northern Arizona
Lomong won Big Sky Conference and Mountain Region championships and enters the NCAA meet as one of the individual favorites. Lomong won the 3,000 meters at the 2007 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships and then won the 1,500 at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Sacramento. He is a junior from Tully, N.Y.
Northeast Region
Men's coach: Mick Byrne, Iona
The Gaels are ranked third nationally heading into the NCAA Cross Country Championships following wins at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and Northeast Regional. The MAAC title was Iona's 17th in a row. The Gaels are making their ninth trip to the NCAA Championships in Byrne's 16 seasons as head coach.
Men's athlete: Max Smith, Providence
Smith won the Northeast Regional by two seconds over teammate Hayden McLaren. Smith also finished fourth at the Big East Conference Championships and placed sixth at Pre-Nationals. He was the Big East indoor champion in the mile last winter. Smith is a senior from Dunedin, New Zealand.
South Region
Men's coach: Joe Walker, Alabama
With sophomore standout Emmanuel Bor leading the way, the Crimson Tide won the South Regional and placed third in the Southeastern Conference Championships. Alabama also defeated several higher-ranked teams in finishing third at the Bill Dellinger Invitational. Walker has won four regional men's titles in his seven seasons as Alabama's cross country coach.
Men's athlete: Felix Kiboiywo, Auburn
Kiboiywo became the first Auburn cross country runner to win a regional title when he raced to the South title in Gainesville, Fla. He clocked 30:06 for 10,000 meters to defeat Alabama's Emmanuel Bor by five seconds. Kiboiywo's season included a sixth-place finish at the Southeastern Conference meet. He is a sophomore from Eldoret, Kenya.
South Central Region
Men's coach: John McDonnell, Arkansas
McDonnell collected his 18th straight regional title when the Razorbacks won the South Central title with 37 points. McDonnell was named the Southeastern Conference's coach of the year for the 13th straight season as Arkansas won its 17th straight SEC title. Arkansas is ranked seventh nationally heading into the NCAA Championships.
Men's athlete: Shadrack Songok, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Songok won his second straight South Central Region and Southland Conference championships this fall. Songok became the first national champion in school history last spring when he won the 10,000 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. He is a junior from Kapsabet, Kenya.
Southeast Region
Men's coach: Rollie Geiger, North Carolina State
The Wolfpack moved into the top 10 in the final Division I men's poll following their victory at Saturday's Southeast Regional. North Carolina State earlier finished second at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships and were third at Pre-Nationals. This is Geiger's 26th season as head cross country coach at North Carolina State.
Men's athlete: Josh McDougal, Liberty
McDougal added to an illustrious list of honors when he claimed his third Southeast Region individual title. Eastern Kentucky's Jacob Korir outkicked him at last year's regional, but McDougal reserved the outcome Saturday, beating Korir by six seconds. McDougal also won the Pre-Nationals for the third time and claimed his fourth straight Big South Conference title. He is a senior from Peru, N.Y.
West Region
Men's coach: Rob Conner, Portland
After winning their 29th straight West Coast Conference title, the Pilots made even bigger news with their second-place showing at the West Regional. In finishing second to top-ranked Oregon, Portland beat Stanford to earn an automatic NCAA berth. Conner's men have four top-12 NCAA finishes in his 17 years at the helm.
Men's athlete: Galen Rupp, Oregon
After finishing second at the Pacific-10 Conference Championships to teammate Shadrack Kiptoo-Biwott in his first race of the season, Rupp raced to a 10-second victory over Portland's David Kinsella at the West Regional. Rupp will look to improve on his sixth-place finish in 2006 at the upcoming NCAA meet. On the track, Rupp is the American collegiate recorder in the 10,000 meters at 27:33.48.
