Division II XC Regional Athletes & Coaches of the Year Announced for 2015 Season

By Kyle Terwillegar, USTFCCCA

November 11, 2015   

Courtesy

NEW ORLEANS – Region Athletes and Coaches of the Year for the 2015 NCAA Division II Cross Country season were announced Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), as voted on by the Division’s coaches.
More information on each of the winners can be found below.
QUICK LINKS
MEN: Region Athletes of the Year | Region Coaches of the Year
WOMEN: Region Athletes of the Year | Region Coaches of the Year
Award History: Athlete | Coach
The NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships will be contested November 21 in Joplin, Missouri, hosted by Missouri Southern. The meet will be broadcast live online via NCAA.com.

MEN’S ATHLETES OF THE YEAR

ATLANTIC REGION – Dylan Mountain, Lock Haven

Mountain couldn’t be conquered on his home course at regionals. The senior from Altoona, Pennsylvania covered the 10K tract at Lock Haven in 30:27.1, four seconds faster than his closest competitor. Mountain also posted wins at the PSAC Championships and took ninth place in the stacked Gold race at the Paul Short Run in early October.

CENTRAL REGION – Vincent Kiprop, Missouri Southern

Kiprpop, a native of Kericho, Kenya, sure made quite the splash as a freshman. After winning the MSSU Southern Stampede in his debut, Kiprop brought home two more individual titles on top of that. The first was at the MIAA Championships and then two weeks later, he captured the Central Region crown in Joplin, Missouri with an 11-second win.

EAST REGION – John Chirchir, American International

Chirchir made quick work of the postseason once he got there. The junior from Kapsabet, Kenya won the Northeast-10 title in a lean against teammate Leakey Kipkosgei and then stormed to a victory at the East Region championships two weeks later in Hopkinton, New Hampshire.

MIDWEST REGION – Benjamin Tuttle, Cedarville

Tuttle picked the perfect time to step up for Cedarville. The senior from Eastport, New York has raced twice in the postseason and picked up two wins. Tuttle recently won the Midwest Region title by six seconds against a talented field. Two weeks prior, Tuttle was a six-second winner at the G-Mac Championships.

SOUTH REGION – Alfred Chelanga, Shorter

The freshman continues to leave the South Region his dust. After dazzling the region on the track, Chelanga turned his attention to cross country and won the South Region title by 11 seconds. This came two weeks after Chelanga won the Gulf South Conference title in record fashion with a time of 23:53.85.

SOUTH CENTRAL REGION – Keifer Johnson, Western State

Johnson, a junior from Highlands Ranch, Colorado, came out of nowhere to win the South Central Region title last weekend. He beat a field full of former All-Americans to the line by two seconds; two weeks after finishing ninth at his conference meet. Johnson opened the season with a ninth-place effort at the Fort Hays State Tiger Open.

SOUTHEAST REGION – Alex Griggs, Mars Hill

Mark down another win for Griggs, who is a senior from Statesville, North Carolina. His third win of the season was the biggest as he earned individual glory at the Southeast Region Championships. Griggs’ other wins in 2015 came at the Wingate Bulldog Classic and the South Atlantic Conference Championships.

WEST REGION – Henry Cheseto, Alaska Anchorage

Cheseto, a sophomore from Kapenguria, Kenya won not one, not two, not three, but four races so far in 2015. Recently Cheseto captured the individual crown at the West Region Championships held in West Monmouth, Oregon. Cheseto covered the 10K course in 29:29.2, three seconds faster than the field. He also won at the Hawaii Pacific University Invitational, the Western Washington University Invitational and at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships.

WOMEN’S ATHLETES OF THE YEAR

ATLANTIC REGION – Ida Narbuvoll, Edinboro

Narbuvoll, a freshman from Hedmark, Norway, got a taste of winning at the season-opening Doug Watts Distance Gala and wanted more. It’s safe to say she quenched that need recently with a victory at the Atlantic Region Championships. Narbuvoll beat the field to the line by nine seconds and led Edinboro back to the NCAA meet.

CENTRAL REGION – Alexis Zeis, University of Mary

All Zeis has done during the 2015 cross country season is win. Zeis recently posted her fourth win of the season at the Central Region Championships in Joplin, Missouri. Zeis, a sophomore from Bismarck, North Dakota, also won at the Yellowjacket Invitational, the Roy Griak Invitational and the Northern Sun Conference Championships.

EAST REGION – Nicole Borofski, Stonehill

Add another jewel to Borofski’s crown following her 22-second victory at the East Region Championships recently held in Hopkinton, New Hampshire. Borofski, a junior from Plymouth, Massachusetts, also won two weeks prior at the Northeast-10 Championships.

MIDWEST REGION – Emily Oren, Hillsdale

Oren continued her winning ways at the recent Midwest Region Championships. In the 2015 cross country season, Oren never lost to Division II competition and beat them all to the line for the Midwest title. Oren covered the 6K tract in 20:19 and led Hillsdale to yet another NCAA berth. The senior from Holland, Michigan also won this season at the GLAC Championships and the Hillsdale Invitational.

SOUTH REGION – Colett Rampf, Saint Leo

The sophomore from Premnitz, Germany picked up her third win of the season recently at the South Region Championships. Rampf’s 21-second win prolonged an already great season for her. She also won the individual crown at the Sunshine State Conference Championships and won the Fire Short Course Invitational.

SOUTH CENTRAL REGION – Kelsey Bruce, Dallas Baptist

Other than a third-place finish at the Arkansas Chile Pepper Festival against DI competition, Bruce has been a dominant force in 2015. Bruce, a senior from Bracketville, Texas, opened her season with two wins at the UCO Land Run and the MSSU Southern Stampede, then won the Heartland Conference Championships and recently seized glory at the South Central Region Championships with a winning time of 20:36.0.

SOUTHEAST REGION – Catie Byrd, Queens (N.C.)

There is just something that Byrd likes about racing against everybody else at the Southeast Region Championships. Byrd, a sophomore from Zirconia, North Carolina, captured her second win in as many tries at the meet with a 20-second win in 2015. This was Byrd’s third win of the season. The others came at the South Atlantic Conference Championships and the Royals XC Challenge.

WEST REGION – Joyce Chelimo, Alaska Anchorage

Chelimo, a junior from Kapsowar, Kenya, hasn’t finished outside of the top-2 this cross country season. At the West Region Championship, she won her second race in a row. In West Monmouth, Oregon, Chelimo posted a 17-second win and covered the 6K tract in 20:42.4. Chelimo won the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championship two weeks before that by seven seconds.

MEN’S COACHES OF THE YEAR

ATLANTIC REGION – Steve Spence, Shippensburg

In his 18th season at Shippensburg, Spence led his No. 11 Raiders to their first Atlantic Region title since 2009 with a closely fought victory over pre-meet Atlantic favorite No. 10 Lock Haven, 35-41. The regional crown avenged a head-to-head defeat against Lock Haven two weeks prior at the PSAC Championships, where Shippensburg finished runner-up. His squad also won the Paul Short Run Brown Division II/III race.

CENTRAL REGION – Tracy Hellman, Augustana (S.D.)

Hellman, in his 15th season guiding the Augustana (S.D.) program, led the No. 7 Vikings to their fourth consecutive Central Region title, 82-104, over East Central (Okla.). Augustana led the Central Region rankings from wire-to-wire, picking up an NSIC title along the way with a 46-67 victory over Sioux Falls.

EAST REGION – Kevin Curtin, Bentley

Thanks to the guidance of Curtin, who is in his fifth year guiding Bentley’s cross country program, the Falcons qualified for the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2012 and just the sixth time in school history with a runner-up finish in the East Region. His squad finished with seven top-40 runners at the East Regional; no other team in the field had more than five such runners. The Falcons improved from their pre-meet No. 6 regional rank and a fifth-place finish at the Northeast-10 Championships.

MIDWEST REGION – Jerry Baltes, Grand Valley State

Baltes, in his 17th year as the head coach at Grand Valley State, guided his national No. 1 Lakers to their 14th consecutive Midwest Region title in a 43-122 win over No. 7 Southern Indiana. GVSU was dominant all year long, capturing a decisive 76-point GLIAC win among an undefeated season against NCAA DII competition in five meets.

SOUTH REGION – Kent Reiber, Saint Leo

In his fourth season at the helm at Saint Leo, Reiber guided the Lions to the program’s first-ever South Region title with a victory over pre-meet favorite Lee (Tenn.), 78-85, while battling through record-high temperatures in Florida that reached 95 degrees. The regional win followed the team’s second consecutive Sunshine State Conference title two weeks prior.

SOUTH CENTRAL REGION – Damon Martin, Adams State

After early-season performances indicated that 2015 might be a down year for the three-time defending national champion Adams State men, head coach Damon Martin righted the ship and guided his No. 3 Grizzlies to a decisive win in the South Central Region for the fourth straight year, 55-104, over No. 4 Colorado Mines. Martin, in his 21st season coaching the men at Adams State, also led the Grizzlies to the RMAC title over CSM, 36-52.

SOUTHEAST REGION – Matt van Lierop, Mount Olive

Van Lierop, in his seventh year guiding the Mount Olive program, led his No. 16 Spartan men to the Southeast Region title over 2014 winner Mars Hill, 52-89. The regional victory came two weekends after Mount Olive scored a perfect 15 with a one-through-six individual sweep at the Conference Carolinas Championships.

WEST REGION – Michael Friess, Alaska Anchorage

Friess, in his 26th season leading the Alaska Anchorage cross country program, guided his No. 5 Seawolves to the West Region title over No. 2 Chico State, 55-79, for the team’s first region crown since 2011. Henry Cheseto and Dominik Notz swept the top two individual positions for Alaska Anchorage, which also earned a decisive win at the GNAC Championships two weekends earlier.

WOMEN’S COACHES OF THE YEAR

ATLANTIC REGION – Daniel Caulfield, California (Pa.)

Caulfield, in his eighth season guiding the Cal (Pa.) program, led his unranked Vulcan women to their first-ever Atlantic Region title in a narrow win over No. 18 Edinboro, 105-112. Dating back to the beginning of the USTFCCCA Regional Rankings archives in 2009, California (Pa.) had never been ranked higher than third in the region prior to this weekend’s win. The Vulcans finished fourth at the PSAC Championships two weekends earlier.

CENTRAL REGION – Corey McElhaney, Southwest Baptist

McElhaney, in his sixth season as the head coach at Southwest Baptist, guided his unranked Bearcat women to their first-ever Central Region title in an upset victory over No. 5 Minnesota Duluth, 79-99. Southwest Baptist took the win after having been ranked fifth or sixth in the region for much of the season. The region title followed up on the program’s second-ever MIAA title.

EAST REGION – Karen Boen, Stonehill

Boen, in her 18th season at the helm of the Stonehill program, led her No. 16 Skyhawk women to a decisive win at the East Regional over 2014 champion Roberts Wesleyan, 48-128. The win was Stonehill’s sixth region title in the past seven seasons. Her Skyhawks posted an equally dominant win in the Northeast-10 Championships, prevailing 23-116 over Bentley.

MIDWEST REGION – James Kearney, Lewis

Kearney, in his second year in charge of the Lewis program, led his No. 14 Flyers to a pair of upsets over No. 8 Northern Michigan and No. 11 Southern Indiana to finish third-place at the Midwest Regional Championships for the program’s best finish over the last seven years (dating back to the beginning of the USTFCCCA archives in 2009). Behind individual winner Amanda Farrough, the Flyers finished runner-up in the GLVC for a second consecutive season in what was arguably their best showing since winning the title last in 1997.

SOUTH REGION – Jarrett Slaven, Tampa

For the ninth consecutive season, Jarret Slaven guided the Tampa women to the South Region title, this time in a 51-70 win over Saint Leo. Slaven, who is in his 17th season guiding the Spartans program, also led his women to their eighth Sunshine State Conference title in the past nine years with a 28-39 victory over Saint Leo.

SOUTH CENTRAL REGION – Jacob Phillips, Dallas Baptist

For just the second time in program history, the Dallas Baptist women are heading to the NCAA Championships. Eleventh-year coach Jacob Phillips led the Patriots to a fourth-place finish in the South Central behind individual region champion Kelsey Bruce. At No. 20 in the National Coaches’ Poll after the school won its ninth-straight Heartland Conference title, Phillips has DBU ranked its highest since the 2010 season.

SOUTHEAST REGION – Julia Marquardt, Montevallo

Marquardt, in her third season guiding the Montevallo program, led the No. 17 Falcons to a decisive win in the Southeast over host Wingate, 30-108, for their second consecutive region title. Montevallo was just as dominant in winning the Peach Belt title, scoring a 26-93 win over North Georgia for a second consecutive league crown.

WEST REGION – Gary Towne, Chico State

Towne, in his 20th season at the helm of the Chico State program, guided the Wildcats to a big victory in the West Regional, 89-165, over No. 13 Western Washington for the team’s first region crown since 2012. Two weeks prior, Town led the Chico women to their eighth consecutive CCAA title in a 38-61 win over No. 19 UC San Diego with a 1-2 individual finish from McCall Habermehl and Sadie Gastelum.