COMING UP: Idle until Cascade Conference Championships, Nov. 8, Fernhill Park, Portland, Ore.
LAST WEEK: at Inland Empire Challenge (Lewiston) – Men (4th of 6 Teams), Women (2nd of 7 Teams)
KLOPFENSTEIN EARNS CCC HONORS: It was a banner run for
Lila Klopfenstein (Meridian, Idaho / Meridian HS) at the Inland Empire Challenge on Saturday, placing eighth overall in the 120 runner field, recording the fifth-fastest 5,000-meter time in C of I history. Her time of 17:10, behind four fastest times from two-time NAIA champ, Hillary Holt, earned the sophomore Red Lion-Cascade Conference Runner of the Week honors for the first time.
LADY YOTES RUN WELL, TAKE SECOND: Needing to make a statement for the national raters, the Lady Yotes did just that on Saturday, recording a solid second-place finish on the Lewiston Orchards course – finishing just behind host Lewis-Clark State. Paced by Lila Klopfenstein's Top-10 run, four of the five members of C of I's scoring bunch all recorded personal-best marks on the speedy five-kilometer course. Freshman
Amy Pfaff (Pasco, Wash. / Hanford HS) recorded a Top-20 finish, racing to a time of 17:32, while the duo of
Jocelyn Allen (Ashton, Idaho / South Fremont HS) and
Angeline Getty (Challis, Idaho / Challis HS) notched the fastest times over the 5,000-meter distance of their careers.
DESPITE PERSONAL BESTS, COYOTES TAKE FOURTH: Competing against an extremely talented and deep field, the Yotes did what they could on the course – as each of their Top-8 runners recorded personal bests in Lewiston – helping C of I to a fourth-place team finish. At the front of the pack was
Max Hampton (Eagle, Idaho / Eagle HS), cracking the 25 minute barrier for the first time, finishing the race in a time of 24:51. Fellow juniors
Matt Goodwin (Boise, Idaho / Bishop Kelly HS),Miles Ranck (Boise, Idaho / Boise HS, and
Dan Williams (Boise, Idaho / Bishop Kelly HS) all were under the 26 minute mark – Goodwin at 25:13, Ranck at 25:40, and Williams at 25:51.
TIME TO PREPARE: C of I will not compete again until the CCC Championships, set for Nov. 8, at Fernhill Park in Portland. Last season, the Lady Yotes claimed the team title, while the Coyotes placed third.
NAIA TOP-25 POLLS: The Coyotes climbed three spots to No. 14 in the latest NAIA Men's Cross Country Top-25 poll, released last Wednesday. C of I received a season-high 363 voter points from the 22 conference and unaffiliated grouping raters. Defending national champion, Oklahoma City, holds the No. 1 spot, followed by Southern Oregon, Olivet Nazarene (Ill.), Embry-Riddle (Fla.), and St. Francis (Ill.), while three other CCC teams – No. 11 Eastern Oregon, No. 19 Oregon Tech, and No. 23 Northwest Christian are in the poll, along with No. 9 Lewis-Clark State, whom C of I raced against last Saturday. In the women's poll, the Lady Yotes stood pat at No. 15 for the third-straight week, receiving 335 voter points from the 22 raters. Two-time defending champion, British Columbia, was the unanimous No. 1 team, followed by Dordt (Iowa), Northwest Christian, Taylor (Ind.), and Westmont (Calif.). L-C State, who defeated C of I on Saturday, is ranked No. 10, with two other CCC teams in the Top-25 – No. 20 Oregon Tech and No. 23 Southern Oregon. The NAIA poll will be released each Wednesday for the remainder of the season.
ABOUT THE COACH: Pat McCurry enters his 11th year at the helm of the cross country and track & field programs at the C of I. In 10 seasons (after the Coyote running programs were dormant for nearly 30 years), McCurry has built the Coyote men and women into perennial NAIA Top-25 programs - with the men's cross country team earning eight berths to the NAIA Championships, with the Lady Yotes advancing to six-straight NAIA meets, winning the 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, and 2013 CCC titles, with the Lady Yotes coming off back-to-back national runner-up finishes. For his efforts, McCurry was named 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, and 2013 CCC women's cross country Coach of the Year. Student-athletes have won 13 NAIA individual titles in cross country and track; claimed 49 individual CCC titles on the track; earned 66 NAIA All-America awards in cross country and track & field; earned seven All-NAIA Region I awards in cross country; 53 All-CCC awards in cross country - along with 101 NAIA All-America Scholar-Athlete awards. His 2013 and 2014 Lady Yote track team won the CCC title, earning him Coach of the Year honors, with the squad placing third at the 2014 and fifth at the 2014 NAIA Indoor Championships, and sixth at the 2014 and seventh at the 2013 NAIA Outdoor Championships.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: For more on C of I cross country, head to the official homepage of the Coyote men's program (
http://yoteathletics.com/index.aspx?path=mcross) and the official homepage of the Lady Yotes
http://yoteathletics.com/index.aspx?path=wcross).
