COMING UP: at NAIA National Championships, Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, Vancouver, Wash. – Women’s 5,000-meters, 10:30 a.m. (PT), Men’s 8,000-meters, 11:45 a.m. (PT)
LAST WEEK: Idle
NATIONALS WELCOME THE YOTES: For the fifth-straight year, both The C of I men and women have qualified for the NAIA Cross Country National Championships at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site in Vancouver, Wash. It is the eighth appearance by The C of I men and the seventh time they will send their entire team – with their top team finish a tenth-place effort in 2009. The Lady Yotes will be competing for an eighth time overall, the fifth time the team has qualified – having recorded a trio of Top-10 finishes, placing ninth in 2008 and seventh overall in 2009 and 2011.
LADY YOTES AMONG THE FAVORITES: The women's race will feature three-time defending champion, Cal State San Marcos, along with stellar programs from British Columbia, Olivet Nazarene, and Biola. CSUSM is led by Chelsey Cortez and Kelly Thompson, with UBC paced by Jackie Regan and Maria Barnard – with C of I All-American
Hillary Holt (Boise, Idaho / Mountain View HS) in the mix for the individual crown.
WOMEN'S QUALIFIERS: The 32-team field features 24 conference/grouping champions (Biola, Brescia, British Columbia, Carroll, Central Methodist, C of I, Cornerstone, Dordt, Embry-Riddle, Friends, Haskell, Huntington, Lee, Milligan, Oklahoma Baptist, Olivet Nazarene, Park, Shawnee State, Soka, Southern Wesleyan, St. Ambrose, St. Francis, Texas Wesleyan, Xavier), seven at-large teams (Aquinas, Cal State San Marcos, Concordia (Calif.), Eastern Oregon, Lewis-Clark State, Northwest Christian, Westmont), and host Concordia (Ore.).
COYOTE MEN LOOKING FOR GOOD THINGS: The C of I men will be looking for their best finish in program history on Saturday – heading to Nationals ranked No. 9. Cascade Conference champ Southern Oregon is one of the favorites, along with St. Francis (Ill.) and Cal State San Marcos among the favorites. Three-time All-American,
Greg Montgomery (Boise, Idaho / Boise HS) will put his five-race win streak on the line – meeting John Gilbertson of The Masters and Edward Taragon of Wayland Baptist, who finished three places ahead of Montgomery at the 2011 NAIA Championships.
MEN'S QUALIFIERS: The 32-team field features 22 conference/grouping champions (Aquinas, Baker, Berea, Bryan, Carroll, Columbia (Mo.), Concordia (Neb.), Embry-Riddle, Emmanuel, Indiana Wesleyan, Oklahoma Baptist, Olivet Nazarene, Shawnee State, Southern Oregon, Southwestern, St. Ambrose, St. Francis, Texas Wesleyan, The Masters, William Jessup, Xavier, York), nine at-large teams (British Columbia, Cal State San Marcos, C of I, Cornerstone, Eastern Oregon, Lewis-Clark State, Lubbock Christian, Morningside, , Wayland Baptist), and host Concordia (Ore.).
ABOUT THE COACH: Pat McCurry is in his ninth year at the helm of the track & field and cross country programs at The C of I. In nine years (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 seven berths to the NAIA Championships, with the Lady Yotes advancing to five-straight NAIA meets, winning the 2008, 2009, 2011, and 2012 CCC titles, with the women’s squad and seventh in both 2009 and 2011. For his efforts, McCurry was named 2008, 2009, 2011, and 2012 CCC women's cross country Coach of the Year. Student-athletes have claimed 22 individual CCC titles on the track, 19 NAIA All-American awards in cross country and track & field, seven All-NAIA Region I awards in cross country, 43 All-CCC awards in cross country - along with 74 NAIA All-America Scholar-Athlete awards. He led the 2012 Lady Yote track team to a second-place finish in the CCC Championships, earning Coach of the Year honors, with the squad finishing tenth at the NAIA Championships. Prior to his arrival at The C of I, McCurry was an assistant coach at his alma mater, Eastern Oregon University, helping EOU to a national runner-up finish at the 2002 NAIA Men’s Cross Country Championships and the 2003 CCC title in men’s track & field. As an athlete at EOU from 1997-1999, McCurry claimed two consecutive CCC titles at 5000-meters and finished eighth at the NAIA Championships at 10,000-meters. His best athletic years came after college while running for Nike Portland, and later the Eastside Track Club - where at the 2003 University of Oregon Preview Meet, the Coyote skipper took home the title in the 3000-meters and has a personal best of 8:13 at that distance. He also holds the Willamette Invitational meet record and Charles Bowles track record at 10,000-meters from his 2004 performance there. McCurry has also claimed the title at many Treasure Valley area races, including the infamous Race to Robie Creek in 2005, 2009. and 2010, along with the City of Trees marathon. He and wife Andrijia live in Caldwell.
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).
