Cross Country Yote Notes - Edition 11 (Season Review)

COMING UP: Season Complete
 
LAST WEEK: at NAIA National Championships (Men 20th of 32 Teams; Women 2nd of 32 Teams)
 
HOLT CAPS AMAZING CAREER WITH NATIONAL TITLE: Another amazing run netted College of Idaho senior Hillary Holt (Meridian, Idaho / Mountain View HS) her second-straight NAIA individual national title, as the three-time All-American won the NAIA Women's Cross Country National Championship by nine seconds over Oklahoma Baptist's Hannah Helker.  Holt's time of 16:48 was the second-fastest 5,000-meter time in C of I history and capped an amazing cross country career that saw her win 10 individual races, earn Cascade Conference Runner of the Week honors eight times, and earn four All-CCC awards.
 
KLOPFENSTEIN SISTERS LEAD C OF I TO SECOND-PLACE FINISH: For the second-straight year, the Lady Yotes had three runners in the Top-10, but could not overcome an outstanding team effort by British Columbia – as UBC defeated C of I by 41 points to earn the team title.  Sora Klopfenstein (Meridian, Idaho / Meridian HS) capped an outstanding career by earning her third All-America honor, placing fourth overall.  Her sister, freshman Lila Klopfenstein (Meridian, Idaho / Meridian HS) had an amazing run – finishing eighth overall in her first NAIA Championships, earning All-America accolades.  C of I's team score of 97 points was their lowest total in their six trips to Nationals.
 
MEN RACE WELL, TAKE 20TH: Competing without their No. 1 racer, it was an uphill climb for the Coyote men at the NAIA Championships – but C of I dug deep, using a tight pack to place 20th overall in the field of 32 squads.  All five scorers will return next season – led by an 87th-place finish by Dan Williams (Boise, Idaho / Bishop Kelly HS) and a 114th-place finish by Christopher Roeper (Emmett, Idaho / Emmett HS).
 
SEASON RECAP: It was a season for the Coyote men that built from the beginning, as C of I struggled with injuries early on – not racing as a complete squad until the CCC Championships, where they placed third-overall, earning a berth to the NAIA Championships.  The Yotes will lose just one senior from the squad, as their top finisher from the league race – Sean Saxton (Meridian, Idaho / Rocky Mountain HS) will graduate.  The Lady Yotes capped the best season ever by a C of I women's team – going wire-to-wire as the No. 2 ranked team in the NAIA.  Led by seniors Hillary Holt, Sora Klopfenstein, and Sarah Johnson (Shelton, Wash. / Shelton HS), the Yotes defeated Idaho State in a head-to-head dual, won both the Coyote Twilight and Inland Empire Classic titles, and placed fourth against a stellar Division I field at the Rim Rock Classic.  The Lady Yotes won their fourth CCC title in five years, recording the second-lowest score in league history, before repeating as runners-up at the NAIA Championships.  The squad will lose their senior leaders, but return freshman Lila Klopfenstein and sophomore Ruth Lewinski (McCall, Idaho / McCall-Donnelly HS).
 
FINAL NAIA POLLS: The Coyote men climbed to No. 20 in the final NAIA Top-25 Coaches' Poll of the season – receiving 218 voter points from the 20 conference and unaffiliated grouping voters.  NAIA Champion, Oklahoma City earned the top spot, followed by Southern Oregon, Emmanuel (Ga.), St. Francis (Ill.), and Aquinas (Mich.).  Fellow CCC member, Eastern Oregon, was No. 11, while Oregon Tech received votes.  The Lady Yotes remained at No. 2 in the final women's poll – receiving all second-place votes, tallying 572 voter points.  British Columbia earned the No. 1 spot, followed by the Yotes, Biola (Calif.), Lewis-Clark State, and Olivet Nazarene (Ill.).  Northwest Christian ended the year ranked No. 9, while Southern Oregon and Corban both received votes.
 
ABOUT THE COACH: Pat McCurry is in his tenth year at the helm of the cross country and track & field programs at The C of I. In nine 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 recording  national runner-up finishes in 2012 and 2013. 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 seven NAIA individual titles in cross country and track; claimed 34 individual CCC titles on the track; earned 40 NAIA All-American awards in cross country and track & field; earned seven All-NAIA Region I awards in cross country; 54 All-CCC awards in cross country - along with 87 NAIA All-America Scholar-Athlete awards. His 2013 Lady Yote track team won the CCC title, with the squad placing fifth at the NAIA Indoor Championships and seventh at the NAIA Outdoor 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.
 
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).