November 19, 2008
USTFCCCA Names NCAA Division III Men’s Cross Country Athletes and Coaches of the Year
NEW ORLEANS – Hamilton standout Peter Kosgei and Cortland State coach Steve Patrick are among the 16 men honored as NCAA Division III Cross Country Athletes and Coaches of the Year.
The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association announced today the regional honorees for eight regions across the country. Each of the honorees will either be running or coaching at Saturday’s NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships in Hanover, Ind.
Kosgei’s undefeated season includes victories at the Atlantic Region and New England Small College Athletic Conference championship events. The Atlantic Region Men’s Athlete of the Year finished second at last year’s NCAA Championships and will be the top returnee Saturday.
Patrick is the Atlantic Region Men’s Coach of the Year after leading Cortland State to decisive wins at the regional and State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) meets. Cortland State is the top-ranked men’s team in the country heading into Saturday’s NCAA Championships.
The NCAA Division III regional winners for the 2008 men’s cross country season:
ATLANTIC REGION
Men’s athlete: Peter Kosgei, Hamilton College
Kosgei won his second straight Atlantic Region title, clocking 25:18.8 to win by more than 14 seconds. He also won the NESCAC and NYSCTC championships. His only loss in his two-year career at Hamilton came at last year’s NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships, when he finished second. Kosgei is a junior from Kapsabet, Kenya.
Men’s coach: Steve Patrick, State University of New York at Cortland
Top-ranked Cortland State scored 37 points to finish in front of defending NCAA champion New York University (84) at the Atlantic Regional. The Red Dragons also won the SUNYAC title with 22 points as they claimed seven of the top 10 spots. Patrick was named Cortland State’s head cross country coach last summer.
CENTRAL REGION
Men’s athlete: David McKay, Luther College
McKay will be making his third straight trip to the NCAA Championships following his six-second victory at the Central Regional. His second-place finish at the Iowa Intercollegiate Association meet led the Norse to their third straight IIAC men’s team title. The senior from Iowa City finished 27th at last year’s national meet.
Men’s coach: Ted Bulling, Nebraska Wesleyan University
With their victory at the Central Regional, the Prairie Wolves have qualified for the NCAA Championships 12 straight years. Their Great Plains Athletic Conference title was their ninth in the last 10 years under Bulling’s direction.
GREAT LAKES REGION
Men’s athlete: Jed Christiansen, Calvin College
Christiansen won his second straight Great Lakes title, clocking 24:44 as the Knights claimed their 13th straight regional championship. Two weeks earlier, Christiansen won individual honors in leading Calvin to its 22nd consecutive Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association team title. He is a senior from Greenville, Pa.
Men’s coach: Brian Diemer, Calvin College
Calvin raced to its 13th straight regional championship, scoring just 37 points. The Knights are ranked fourth nationally heading into this weekend’s NCAA Championships. Diemer has guided Calvin to four NCAA men’s cross country championships.
MIDEAST REGION
Men’s athlete: Brian Harvey, Carnegie Mellon University
Harvey successfully defended his Mideast Region crown by racing to an 18-second victory in Waynesburg, Pa. Harvey added second-place finishes at the University Athletic Association Championships and Carnegie Mellon Invitational. A senior from Ellicott City, Md., Harvey finished 12th at last year’s NCAA Championships.
Men’s coach: Dario Donatelli, Carnegie Mellon University
Donatelli led the eighth-ranked Tartans to their first regional title since 1988. CMU’s winning total of 37 points gave the Tartans a 36-point margin of victory at the Mideast Regional meet. Donatelli’s son, Dario, finished fourth at regionals. Earlier in the season, Carnegie Mellon placed second at the University Athletic Association meet behind defending NCAA men’s champion New York University. This will be CMU’s fourth straight trip to the NCAA meet on Donatelli’s watch.
MIDWEST REGION
Men’s athlete: Brandon Mull, Wheaton College (Illinois)
Mull’s outstanding season includes victories at the Midwest Region and College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Championships. He also finished third out of more than 400 runners at the UW-Oshkosh Invitational. Mull, a senior from Rockford, Ill., earned All-America honors with his 10th-place finish at last fall’s NCAA Championships.
Men’s coach: Al Carius, North Central College
The second-ranked Cardinals swept their three biggest meets of the season entering nationals – the UW-Oshkosh Invitational, College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin and the Midwest Region championships. Carius, a member of the USTFCCCA Hall of Fame, has won 10 NCAA men’s cross country championships in his 43 seasons at North Central.
NEW ENGLAND REGION
Men’s athlete: Edgar Kosgey, Williams College
Kosgey dominated the field at the New England Regional, winning by 14 seconds as the Ephs claimed the team championship. He previously won the New England Small College Athletic Conference individual title. Kosgey, a junior from Eldoret, Kenya, finished 36th at last year’s NCAA Cross Country Championships.
Men’s coach: Peter Farwell, Williams College
Following their third straight NESCAC and fourth straight East Coast Athletic Conference titles, the sixth-ranked Ephs won the New England Regional by more than 80 points. Farwell’s men won NCAA cross country championships in 1994 and 1995 and have nine other top-10 finishes since. Farwell has been coaching the Williams men since 1979.
SOUTH/SOUTHEAST REGION
Men’s athlete: Chase Wilson, Centre College
Wilson led the Colonels to Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference and South/Southeast Region team titles with individual victories in both races. At the SCAC Championships, he won despite suffering an injury earlier in the week that required eight stitches in his foot. Wilson is a senior from Paducah, Ky.
Men’s coach: Lisa Owens, Centre College
In her most successful season since becoming the men’s cross country coach in 1998, Owens guided the No. 16 Colonels to their first-ever Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference championship and followed that up with a first-place finish at the South/Southeast Regional.
WEST REGION
Men’s athlete: Nicholas Gallagher, Whitworth University
Gallagher won the first regional title in Whitworth history edging the runner-up at the West Region meet in Salem, Ore. Gallagher finished second at the Northwest Conference Championships as Whitworth won the team title. Gallagher is a sophomore from Bedford, Iowa.
Men’s coach: Toby Schwarz, Whitworth University
Two weeks after ending Willamette’s run of Northwest Conference titles with Whitworth’s first NWC championship in 36, Schwarz guided the 24th-ranked Pirates to their first regional title and team berth in the NCAA Men’s Cross Country Championships. This is Schwarz’s 11th season as Whitworth’s cross country coach.