Track & Field Yote Notes - Edition 16 (Season Review)

COMING UP: Season Complete
 
LAST WEEK: at NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships (Gulf Shores, Ala.) – Men 49th-place, Women 6th-place
 
WOMEN EARN TOP-10 FINISH: For the second-straight year, the College of Idaho women's track team earned a Top-10 finish at the NAIA Outdoor Championships, placing sixth overall among the over 100 schools competing in Gulf Shores, Ala.  The Lady Yotes earned six All-America awards and recorded 39 team points, placing sixth overall (just two points away from a podium finish) – their highest outdoor finish in program history (scored 34 points and placed seventh during the 2013 season).  The Coyote men earned four team points and placed 49th overall.
 
HOLT CAPS AMAZING CAREER: Leading the Lady Yotes one final time was Hillary Holt (Meridian, Idaho / Mountain View HS), as the senior closed out a record breaking career at the NAIA Outdoor National Championships.  Holt defended her national championship in the 1,500-meters, defeating a stellar field with a time of 4:18.28 – her third-straight 1,500-meter crown.  She also placed third in the 800-meters (2:09.24) and ran a leg on C of I's 4x400-meter relay team.  Holt closed her career with a school-record 17 All-America awards along with 11 NAIA national championships (nine individual titles, two relay titles).
 
MORE ON HOLT: Last weekend, Holt began her post-collegiate track career in Eugene, Ore., at the Prefontaine Classic at Hayward Field.  Competing in an elite heat of the 800-meters against professional runners, she clocked a personal best time of 2:06.00, placing seventh in the field of 10.
 
JOHNSON WINS 5,000 TITLE IN FINAL RACE: The final race for the Lady Yotes this season provided one of the most exciting outcomes, as Sarah Johnson (Shelton, Wash. / Shelton HS) won the NAIA national title in the 5,000-meters.  The senior, who previously earned All-America honors in cross country and indoor track, made a big move over the final four laps to win the race in a time of 17:24.06, a full eight seconds clear of the next runner.  Johnson became the third individual national champion in C of I program history.
 
HURD EARNS PAIR OF ALL-AMERICA HONORS: A banner senior season was capped off by Jasmine Hurd (Boise, Idaho / Centennial HS), qualifying for the NAIA final in both hurdle races – earning All-America honors in both events.  Hurd won her preliminary heat in the 100-meter hurdles, then placed sixth in the final with a school record time of 14.06, following it up with a fourth-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles, breaking her own school record with a time of 1:01.22.
 
KLOPFENSTEIN EARNS ANOTHER ALL-AMERICA HONOR: Completing the All-America trifecta for the second-straight year was Sora Klopfenstein (Meridian, Idaho / Meridian HS), who placed fourth overall in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (10:51.60).  The senior, who earned All-America honors in both cross country and indoor track this season, recorded the ninth overall All-America award of her career and the third time she has placed in the Top-5 at nationals in the steeplechase.
 
RELAYS FAIL TO ADVANCE: It was a tough go of it for both C of I women's relay teams at Nationals, as both failed to advance out of the preliminary heats.  In the 4x100, an issue with the timing mechanism forced a restart (after C of I had a quality first exchange in the opening run), while in the 4x400, a dropped baton in the first exchange took the Yotes out of contention, though the final two runners in the race recorded PR splits.
 
BASTERRECHEA EARNS ALL-AMERICA AWARD IN DECATHLON: An outstanding collegiate track career for Austin Basterrechea (Gooding, Idaho / Gooding HS) ended with his fourth All-America honor, placing fifth overall in the decathlon.  The senior scored 6,954 total points – the third time in his career that he has eclipsed the 6,900 point barrier and placed in the Top-3 in four events - winning both the high jump (6-7) and the 1,500-meters (4:20.05), placing third in the 400-meters (49.92) and the long jump (22-8).
 
HAMPTON, KLOPFENSTEIN MAKE FINAL IN 1,500: Two other C of I runners made the final in their respective races – as Nick Hampton (Eagle, Idaho / Eagle HS) and Lila Klopfenstein (Meridian, Idaho / Meridian HS) advanced to the title heat in the 1,500-meters.  Hampton, who narrowly missed the final in the 800-meters, despite setting a school record with his time of 1:51.75, made the 1,500 final, finishing tenth with a time of 3:55.58 – two seconds slower than his preliminary mark.  Klopfenstein, who earned All-America honors indoors in the 3,000-meters, took tenth as well, recording a time of 4:38.78.
 
MEN'S SEASON IN REVIEW: It was a solid all-around season for the Coyotes, as C of I placed 21st at this winter's NAIA Indoor Championships, placing fourth at the Cascade Conference Championships, and finishing with a 49th-place finish at Outdoor Nationals.  The Yotes were helped by an influx of talent from the football team – as thrower Andrew Galloway (Payette, Idaho / Payette HS) recorded seasonal bests in the shot put and discus, with Malik Whitfield (Baltimore, Md. / Mountain Home HS) showing promise in the sprints.  The team was anchored by seniors Nick Hampton and Austin Basterrechea – Hampton earning All-America honors indoors in the 1,000-meters, while Basterrechea won CCC titles in the decathlon and 110-meter hurdles, while earning All-America honors in both the heptathlon and the decathlon.
 
WOMEN'S SEASON IN REVIEW: The best season in program history concluded for the Lady Yotes – winning their second-straight CCC title, placing third at Indoor Nationals and sixth at Outdoor Nationals.  The 2010-11 senior class will leave a big hole to fill – as three NAIA champions – Hillary Holt, Sarah Johnson, and Sora Klopfenstein, along with 10-time CCC champion, Jasmine Hurd, have graduated.  The quartet has combined to set 10 outdoor and seven indoor C of I school records during their tenure.  C of I will have depth returning, including sprinter Nichole DeGrange (Boise, Idaho / Mountain View HS), who set school records in the 100 and 200-meters, along with throwers Jessica Aguilar (Caldwell, Idaho / Caldwell HS) and Jessica Bates (Arco, Idaho / Butte County HS).
 
ABOUT THE COACH: Pat McCurry finished his tenth year at the helm of the cross country and track & field programs at the College of Idaho. 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 Cascade Conference 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. 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 information on C of I's track program visit the homepage for the Coyotes (http://www.yoteathletics.com/index.aspx?path=mtrack&tab=0) and Lady Yotes (http://www.yoteathletics.com/index.aspx?path=wtrack&tab=0).