2017 Men's Cross Country Season Review

COMING UP: Season Complete
 
ANOTHER TOP-10 FINISH: For the third-straight year, the College of Idaho placed in the Top-10 at the NAIA National Championships, earning a tenth-place finish in the 8,000-meter event at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site. The Yotes finished with 354 team points – the fifth team to finish from the Pacific Northwest – finishing with a team time of 26:20. C of I had great individual performances, however, their split between their No. 1 and No. 5 runners was 84 seconds – the biggest gap of the season (team had averaged a gap between 19and 59 seconds for the majority of the season. Coupled with the women's team finish at the meet (sixth-place), the combined team score of the two C of I teams placed the team third overall – the highest combined finish in program history.
 
MARTIN EARNS ALL-AMERICA HONOR: The Coyotes were paced by sophomore Alex Martin, who raced among the lead pack throughout the 8-kilometer circuit, placing 23rd overall with a time of 25:16. Martin finished among the Top-30 – earning All-America honors – the fifth C of I runner to earn All-America honors, joining Billy Godfrey, Max Hampton, Dominic Bolin and four-time All-American Greg Montgomery, in the exclusive club.
 
IN THE TOP-100: Two other C of I runners finished in the Top-100 (or the top-third in the field) – sophomore Marcos Cervantes and freshman Cole Campbell. Cervantes had a big race, charging late to finish in 56th-place with a time of 25:50, while Campbell took 98th overall with a time of 26:14.
 
SEASON RECAP: The Yotes had a slow start to the season, thanks to wildfires across the west that forced the cancellation of C of I's opening race in September. The squad competed in just three regular-season meets, including second-place finishes at both the CCC Preview Meet (losing only to Lewis-Clark State) and the Warrior Invite (losing only to Southern Oregon). The Coyote men vaulted to No. 4 in the NAIA poll late in the season and placed a strong second at the CCC Championships behind Alex Martin and Andrew Sutton, who earned All-CCC honors at the Championships. 
 
ACADEMIC AWARDS: Seven Coyotes were honored as members of the Cascade Conference All-Academic Team (at least a sophomore in academic standing and a 3.20 cumulative grade point average at the College) – Marcos Cervantes, Josh Frey, Dylan Haas, Alex Martin, Gavin McCaw, Erik Nordquist and Quinn Radbourne. In addition, Nordquist was honored as an Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete – for being at least a junior in academic standing and maintaining a 3.50 cumulative GPA.
 
LOOKING AHEAD: Optimism is abound for the Yotes, as the team will return six of their top seven finishers from the NAIA Championships and eight of their top-10 finishers from the CCC Championships. The squad will need to replace seniors Quinn Radbourne and Erik Nordquist, however with a solid recruiting class, the Yotes will be in position to again contend for a conference and national title.
 
FOR MORE INFORMATION: For more on the Coyote men's cross country program, visit the Homepage of the Coyotes at YoteAthletics.com.