USTFCCCA Honors Legendary Coaches with Newly Named Regional Awards

By Kyle Terwillegar, USTFCCCA

November 10, 2016

NEW ORLEANS – The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association is pleased to announce namesakes for 13 of its NCAA Division I Cross Country Regional Athlete and Coach of the Year awards, effective as of this 2016 cross country season.
Eight Regional Coach of the Year awards and five Regional Athlete of the Year awards will now bear the names of coaches who built legacies of excellence within their respective regions.
“Each of the outstanding coaches after whom these awards are named established long-lasting traditions of excellence within their own regions and as representatives of their regions at the national level,” USTFCCCA CEO Sam Seemes said. “We consider it an honor to be able to associate our awards with these individuals who embody the very best our sport has to offer.”
The newly named Regional Athlete and Coach of the Year awards include:

Earle Hayes Award (Great Lakes Region Men’s Coach of the Year)
Dan McClimon Award (Great Lakes Region Men’s Athlete of the Year)
Bill Bergan Award (Midwest Region Men’s Athlete of the Year)
Charles Werner Award (Mid-Atlantic Region Men’s Athlete of the Year)
Patrick Shane Award (Mountain Region Women’s Coach of the Year)
Robert Grieve Award (Northeast Region Men’s Coach of the Year)
Ray Treacy Award (Northeast Region Women’s Coach of the Year)
Fred Tootell Award (Northeast Region Men’s Athlete of the Year)
Rollie Geiger Award (Southeast Region Women’s Coach of the Year)
Johnny Morriss Award (South Central Region Men’s Coach of the Year)
Dean Miller Award (West Region Men’s Coach of the Year)
Tom Heinonen Award (West Region Women’s Coach of the Year)
John Chaplin Award (West Region Men’s Athlete of the Year)

Including the awards announced Thursday, the USTFCCCA now bestows 17 NCAA Division I Cross Country Regional Coach of the Year awards named after coaches in addition to the Bill Dellinger Award (National Men’s Coach of the Year) and the Peter Tegen Award (National Women’s Coach of the Year).
Previously named Regional Coach of the Year awards include:

Harry Groves Award (Mid-Atlantic Region Men’s Coach of the Year)
Roy Griak Award (Midwest Region Men’s Coach of the Year)
Chick Hislop Award (Mountain Region Men’s Coach of the Year)
Dave Walker Award (South Region Men’s Coach of the Year)

Listed below are the newly named awards with biographical information on each of their namesakes.

Regional Coach of the Year Awards

Earle Hayes Award (Great Lakes Region Men’s Coach of the Year)
Named after USTFCCCA Hall of Famer Earle Hayes from the University of Indiana, who coached his men to the title at the first-ever NCAA Cross Country Championships in 1938. He led his men to two more team titles in 1940 and 1942, and coached an individual national champion in 1941.
Patrick Shane Award (Mountain Region Women’s Coach of the Year)
Named after Patrick Shane of Brigham Young University, who coached his women to four NCAA Cross Country titles in 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2002. His teams also finished runner-up three times, third once and fourth once at the NCAA Championships.
Robert Grieve Award (Northeast Region Men’s Coach of the Year)
Named after Robert Grieve of Syracuse University, who in 1951 led the Orangemen to their first NCAA Cross Country title in program history. His teams finished as national runners-up three additional times.
Ray Treacy Award (Northeast Region Women’s Coach of the Year)
Named after Ray Treacy of Providence College, who coached his women to NCAA Cross Country team titles in 1995 and 2013. Twice more his teams finished as the national runners-up, and he guided an individual to the national title in 2004.
Rollie Geiger Award (Southeast Region Women’s Coach of the Year)
Named after Rollie Geiger of North Carolina State University, whose women won AIAW Cross Country titles in 1979 and 1980. Twice his teams finished as the NCAA national runners-up, with three third-place finishes. He also coached three individual national champions, including the first-ever NCAA women’s individual champion in 1981.
Johnny Morriss Award (South Central Region Men’s Coach of the Year)
Named after USTFCCCA Hall of Famer Johnny Morriss from the University of Houston, who coached his men to the 1960 NCAA Cross Country title. That represents the first NCAA Cross Country title won by a Southern school. Additionally, he coached the national runner-up team in 1959 and individual national champions in 1959 and 1960.
Dean Miller Award (West Region Men’s Coach of the Year)
Named after Dean Miller of San Jose State University, who in 1962 coached his men’s team to the first NCAA Cross Country title won by a racially integrated team. His team also won a second-consecutive national title in 1963 and a runner-up finish in 1961.
Tom Heinonen Award (West Region Women’s Coach of the Year)
Named after USTFCCCA Hall of Famer Tom Heinonen from the University of Oregon, who coached his women to a pair of NCAA Cross Country titles in 1983 and 1987, as well as a runner-up finish in the first-ever NCAA Women’s Cross Country Championships in 1981. His team also finished second in 1988.

Regional Athlete of the Year Awards

Dan McClimon Award (Great Lakes Region Men’s Athlete of the Year)
Named after Dan McClimon of the University of Wisconsin, who coached his men to an NCAA Cross Country title in 1982 and a national runner-up finish in 1983.
Bill Bergan Award (Midwest Region Men’s Athlete of the Year)
Named after USTFCCCA Hall of Famer Bill Bergan from Iowa State University, who coached his men to a pair of NCAA Cross Country titles in 1989 and 1994, with additional national runner-up finishes in 1990 and 1991. He also coached individual national champions in 1989 and 1990.
Charles Werner Award (Mid-Atlantic Region Men’s Athlete of the Year)
Named after USTFCCCA Hall of Famer Charles Werner from Pennsylvania State University, who coached his men to three NCAA Cross Country titles in 1942, 1947 and 1950. His team also finished as the national runner-up in 1941.
Fred Tootell Award (Northeast Region Men’s Athlete of the Year)
Named after Fred Tootell of the University of Rhode Island, who coached his men to the NCAA Cross Country title in 1941 for the first national title won by a team from the East Coast. He also coached a pair of individual national champions in 1948 and 1949.
John Chaplin Award (West Region Men’s Athlete of the Year)
Named after USTFCCCA Hall of Famer John Chaplin from Washington State, who guided individuals to five individual national titles at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. Additionally, his teams finished runner-up twice, third twice and fourth three times.