Nov. 10, 2006

Coaching legends Damon Martin (Adams State) and Duane Vandenbusche (Western State) are among the many champions honored as NCAA Division II Regional Athletes and Coaches of the Year for the 2006 cross country season.

The U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association honors the men's and women's coaches and athletes of the year for eight regions.

Between them, Martin and Vandenbusche have won 25 NCAA Division II cross country championships. Martin's latest honor is Men's Coach of the Year for the North Central Region; Vandenbusche is the North Central Women's Coach of the Year.

Abilene Christian's Nicodemus Naimadu, who will attempt to become the first three-time individual champion in the history of the NCAA Division II meet, is the South Central Men's Athlete of the Year.

Each of the regional honorees will coach or compete at the NCAA Division II Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships, to be held Nov. 18 in Pensacola, Fla.

East Region

Men's coach: Aaron Russell, Lock Haven
Russell won Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and East Region championships as Lock Haven senior Ryan Blood claimed individual honors at both meets. Lock Haven has won three of the last four regional titles. The Eagles are ranked 10th in the nation heading into the NCAA Championships.

Men's athlete: Ryan Blood, Lock Haven
In a strong return to form after an injury-plagued junior season, Blood won the East Region meet by nearly 30 seconds over Slippery Rock's Jeff Weiss. Blood, a senior from Summerdale, Pa., also won his second Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference title.

Women's coach: Ray Hoffman, Kutztown
Kutztown matched its best finish ever at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championships, placing second to Edinboro. But the Bears went one better at the East Regionals, defeating Edinboro 51-58 for their first regional title. Hoffman is in his ninth season as Kutztown's cross country coach.

Women's athlete: Nicole Blaesser, Indiana (Pa.)
Blaesser won the East Region race, setting a course record of 21:43.75 for 6,000 meters at Slippery Rock. She earlier placed second at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference meet. Blaesser, a senior from Oxford, Pa., is a four-time member of the All East Region team.

Great Lakes Region

Men's coach: Steve Kruse, Northern Kentucky
Kruse's team qualified for its first NCAA Division II meet since 1979 with a fourth-place finish at the Great Lakes Regional. Now in his 13th season at head coach, Kruse also led the Norse to third place at the Great Lakes Valley Conference meet, the highest finish in the history of the men's program.

Men's athlete: Nate Peck, Grand Valley State
Peck raced to his third Great Lakes Region title in as many tries and will be one of the leading contenders at the NCAA Division II Championships Nov. 18 in Pensacola, Fla. Earlier in the season, Peck won the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title for the second year in a row.

Women's coach: Marc Arce, Findlay
In his 19th season as Findlay's track and cross country coach, Arce guided the Oilers to their first-ever NCAA cross country berth this fall. Findlay finished third at the Great Lakes Region meet after placing second at the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships. Findlay's women are ranked No. 15 in the latest USTFCCCA poll.

Women's athlete: Laura Aderman, Grand Valley State
Aderman is the top runner on the top-ranked team in Division II women's cross country. The sophomore star followed up her win at the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference meet with a first-place finish at the Great Lakes Regional Championships.

North Central Region

Men's coach: Damon Martin, Adams State
The titles and honors keep coming for Martin. The Grizzlies began the season ranked No. 1 in the country and haven't budged since, winning the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference title by a record margin. Adams State also won the North Central Region title and scored an unofficial victory over Division I powerhouse Colorado at the Rocky Mountain Invite. Martin has won 15 NCAA men's and women's titles at Adams State.

Men's athlete: Kim Hogarth, Western State
Hogarth, a sophomore from Nelson, New Zealand, won the North Central Regionals after placing second at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference meet in October. Hogarth was a member of the Western State team that won last year's NCAA Division II cross country championship.

Women's coach: Duane Vandenbusche, Western State
Now in his 25th year as the head coach of the Western State women's team, Vandenbusche led the Mountaineers to an upset win over arch-rival Adams State at the North Central meet. Vandenbusche has won 10 NCAA cross country titles (three women's, seven men's) during his 34 years at Western State.

Women's athlete: Esther Komen, Western State
In her second collegiate season, Komen won individual titles at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and North Central Region championships. A native of Iten, Kenya, Komen finished second at last year's NCAA Division II Championships, leading the Mountaineers to the national team title.

South Region

Men's coach: Steve Guymon, Harding
Guymon was named the Gulf South Conference's coach of the year for both men and women after his harriers swept the conference meet. Harding also won its seventh straight South Region championship and is ranked sixth in the nation.

Men's athlete: Julius Kosgei, Harding
The fourth-place finisher at last year's NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships, Kosgei looks as if he might do even better as a junior. He won the South Region championship, leading Harding to its seventh straight team title. The Kenyan also finished fourth in the Gulf South Conference meet.

Women's coach: Steve Guymon, Harding
Guymon coached the Lady Bison to runaway wins at the Gulf South Conference and South Region meets. Ranked fourth in the nation, Harding is an excellent bet to finish in the top 10 at nationals for the fourth straight year.

Women's athlete: Emry McKay, North Alabama
McKay became the first South Region champion in school history by edging Harding's Janee Jones, clocking 21:28 on the 6,000-meter course in Memphis, Tenn. McKay finished 17th at last year's NCAA Championships in Pomona, Calif.

Southeast Region

Men's coach: Gary Aycock, St. Andrews Presbyterian
In his fifth year at the helm, Aycock led St. Andrews to its first-ever Southeast Region title. The Knights placed four runners in the top 20 at regionals to earn their second straight NCAA berth.

Men's athlete: Jon Stoehr, Mars Hill
Stoehr, a senior from Antigo, Wisc., won the Southeast Region race, finishing one second ahead of Wingate's Jayce Watson. Stoehr earlier won the South Atlantic Conference individual title, leading Mars Hill to its 10th consecutive conference championship.

Women's coach: Mike Lawson, North Carolina Central
North Carolina Central qualified for its first-ever NCAA women's cross country meet by winning the Southeast Region title. Lawson had five runners, including two freshmen, place in the top 20 at regionals. Lawson had previously won Southeast Region Coach of the Year honors in indoor track and outdoor track.

Women's athlete: Aubrey Morris, Carson-Newman
Morris, a sophomore from Chattanooga, had a 21-second gap on the field at the Southeast Region meet in Wingate, N.C. Morris was second at the South Atlantic Conference championships.

South Central Region

Men's coach: Derek Hood, Abilene Christian
Hood's second season as ACU's cross country coach saw the Wildcats win their seventh straight South Central crown and 16th straight Lone Star Conference championship. Abilene Christian has a two-time defending NCAA individual champion in Nicodemus Naimadu. Hood's father, Don Hood Sr., will be inducted into the USTFCCCA Hall of Fame in December.

Men's athlete: Nicodemus Naimadu, Abilene Christian
Naimadu will not only be favored to win his third straight NCAA Division II championship later this month in Pensacola, Fla. He'd possibly be favored to win the Division I race as well. Naimadu's undefeated season includes victories at the Lone Star Conference and Southeast Region meets. He also set a course record in winning the Chile Pepper Festival against Division I competition.

Women's coach: Russ Jewett, Pittsburg State
Despite the loss of two of his best runners due to injuries, Jewett's young team placed second to Abilene Christian at the South Central Regionals. Pitt State managed to finish ahead of Missouri Southern and Southwest Baptist, teams that relegated the Gorillas to third place at the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association meet two weeks earlier. This marks the sixth time that Jewett's women have qualified for the NCAA meet.

Women's athlete: Jacquie Faust, Truman State
Faust ran the race of her collegiate career at the South Regionals, winning the individual title to earn her first trip to the NCAA Championships. The senior from St. Louis also won the Miner Invitational and was second at the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association meet.

West Region

Men's coach: Gary Towne, Chico State
Chico State won the West Regionals with 32 points and head to the NCAA Championships ranked third in the country. Last month, Towne's Wildcats claimed their fifth straight California Collegiate Athletic Association men's title. Charlie Serrano led a 1-2-3 Chico State finish at the CCAA meet. Towne has led his alma mater to 11 top-10 finishes at the NCAA Cross Country Championships (seven for the men, four for the women).

Men's athlete: Todd Iacovelli, Hawaii Pacific
Iacovelli, a senior from Kailua, won the West Region title, clocking 31:58 for 10,000 meters. The Pacific West Conference individual champion also won Hawaii-Hilo, BYU and Hawaii Pacific invitational titles this fall.

Women's coach: Chris Asher, Cal State Los Angeles
In his fifth season as head coach, Asher guided the Golden Eagles to fifth in the USTFCCCA Division II rankings. Cal State Los Angeles won the West Region title and finished second at the California Collegiate Athletic Association championships.

Women's athlete: Jessica Pixler, Seattle Pacific
Pixler's continued her undefeated season by winning the West Region title, making her the first Seattle Pacific runner to claim a regional championship since 1985. Pixler is also a member of the Seattle Pacific soccer team that reached the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Northeast Region

Men's coach: Gary Gardner, UMass Lowell
Gardner led the River Hawks to their sixth Northeast Region title in seven years, earning an automatic berth in the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships. UML placed five runners in the top 12 at regionals. Gardner, the Northeast-10 Conference Coach of the Year, also led the women's team to a second-place finish at regionals.

Men's athlete: Chris Croff, Southern Connecticut
Croff had a sensational freshman season, winning Northeast-10 Conference and Northeast Region titles. Croff won the regional race by more than 20 seconds, easily qualifying for his first NCAA Division II meet.

Women's coach: Karen Boen, Stonehill
Boen guided the Skyhawks to their sixth Northeast Region championship in seven years, edging defending champion UMass Lowell, 47-55. Stonehill also won the Northeast-10 Conference title. Stonehill enters the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships ranked 20th in the nation.

Women's athlete: Nicole Plante, UMass Lowell
Plante won her second straight Northeast Regional title, leading the River Hawks to a runner-up team finish and automatic NCAA berth. Plante covered the 6,000-meter regional course in 21 minutes, 28.3 seconds, finishing a minute ahead of the field. She also won the Northeast-10 Conference individual title.