Wednesday, December 9, 2015

PORTLAND, Ore. – Two of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference’s longest tenured coaches have been selected as the league’s Cross Country Coaches of the Year after standout seasons posted by the Alaska Anchorage men and Western Washington women.

Seawolves’ head coach Michael Friess was selected by his peers as the GNAC Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year for the sixth consecutive time. Vikings’ head coach Pee Wee Halsell was tabbed as the GNAC’s Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year for the first time.

Friess led the Alaska Anchorage men to a banner year as the Seawolves placed third at the NCAA Division II Championships for the second time in school history. The team was led by sophomore Henry Cheseto, who finished third individually to earn All-American honors for the second year in a row. Two other Seawolves’ earned All-American distinction: Dominik Notz (eighth) and Edwin Kangogo (30th).

Alaska Anchorage preceeded their run to the national meet by repeating as the GNAC and NCAA West Region team champions. At the GNAC Championships, the Seawolves recorded the second lowest men’s winning score of 23 points, bettered only by their 18-point total from 2014. Two weeks later, the Seawolves won their first West Region meet since 2011 with 55 points, 24 points better than defending three-time champion Chico State. Cheseto repeated as champion at both races and was named both the GNAC and West Region Athlete of the Year.

The GNAC Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year award is the ninth for Friess and the 17th overall for him in the 150year history of the conference. In his 26-year career at Alaska Anchorage, Friess has 26 coach of the year awards combined in cross country, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field. Friess was also named the USTFCCCA Division II West Region Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year, the third time he has earned that honor.

Halsell led the Western Washington to not only a solid regular season, but an impressive postseason run. After placing second at the GNAC Championships, which were held on WWU’s home course at Lake Padden Park, the Vikings finished second at the NCAA West Region Championships to qualify for the NCAA Championships. Their score of 165 points was 36 points better than GNAC rival Alaska Anchorage, who placed third.

At the NCAA Championships, Western Washington finished in sixth place with 307 points, the best finish at the meet in program history. The Vikings were led by senior Taylor Guenther, who earned All-American honors with a 26th place finish.

The GNAC Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year is the first for Halsell, who is in his 29th year leading the WWU cross country and track and field programs. He has earned the league’s Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year award four times (2003, 2006, 2007 and 2009) in addition to 11 awards in indoor and outdoor track and field.