COMING UP: Season Complete
LAST WEEK: at NAIA National Championship (Lawrence, Kan.) – Men (22nd of 36 Teams), Women (17th of 37 Teams)
A SUCCESSFUL PAIR OF RACES: For the seventh-straight year, both College of Idaho cross country teams advanced to the NAIA National Championship, and for the seventh-straight year, both teams finished in the Top-25. The Lady Yotes used some outstanding running at the front of pack to record a 17th-place finish – well ahead of their seed coming into the meet – while the Coyote men finished just ahead of their pre-meet rating, placing 22nd.
HAMPTON JOINS ELITE COMPANY: In the 11-year history of the current Coyote men's program, only two previous runners earned All-America honors (Greg Montgomery in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, Dominic Bolin in 2012) by finishing in the Top-30 at the NAIA Championships. Add
Max Hampton (Eagle, Idaho / Eagle HS) to the list, clocking a time of 25:30 in Kansas to finish 25th overall, earning the national accolades. Teammates
Miles Ranck (Boise, Idaho / Boise HS) and
Matt Goodwin (Boise, Idaho / Bishop Kelly HS) each finished in the Top-150, Ranck in 142nd (26:47) and Goodwin in 148th (26:50) – both in the top half of the over 300-runner field.
MEN'S RECAP: For the second-straight year, Oklahoma City ran away with the team title. Cascade Conference champion, Southern Oregon placed second, with Eastern Oregon taking fourth behind individual runner-up, D.J. Flores. The two other CCC teams each finished in the Top-25 – Concordia in 20th and Oregon Tech in 24th.
LADY YOTES DUO EARN ALL-AMERICA NODS: For the fourth-straight year, the C of I women's team recorded multiple All-Americans at the national meet. Sophomore
Lila Klopfenstein (Meridian, Idaho / Meridian HS) recorded a repeat performance in Kansas, earning All-America honors for a second year in a row, placing seventh overall with a time of 18:03 – the top finisher among CCC runners. True freshman
Amy Pfaff (Pasco, Wash. / Hanford HS) capped an outstanding season with a 16th-place finish (18:23) to become the sixth Lady Yote and third C of I freshman to earn All-America honors. As a team, C of I finished in the middle of the pack, but less than 10 points away from a Top-15 finish.
WOMEN'S RECAP: The juggernaut that is the British Columbia team continued to steamroll the NAIA, as the T-Birds crushed the competition for their third-straight title. UBC standout Maria Bernard earned the individual title by 31 seconds over Oklahoma Baptist runner Hannah Fields. Northwest Christian finished third, Oregon Tech placed 11th, with Southern Oregon just behind the Yotes in 18th.
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).
