NEW ORLEANS – Region Athletes and Coaches of the Year for the 2014 NCAA Division III cross country season were announced Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), as voted on by the Division’s coaches.

Men’s Athletes of the Year

ATLANTIC REGION – Matt Giannino, RIT

The Atlantic Region title was Giannino’s third straight win this fall after the senior won Oberlin’s Inter-Regional Rumble and the Liberty League earlier this season.  The senior beat NYU’s Sebastian Oja by three seconds.  A native of Syracuse, Giannino was only 93rd at regionals last year.

 

CENTRAL REGION – Grant Wintheiser, St. Olaf

Wintheiser won his second Central Region championship in three years, reclaiming the title he won in 2012.  He beat out 2013 champ Eli Horton by 25 seconds.  The senior, a Sartell, Minnesota, native, has not lost to a DIII athlete this fall, with wins at home, UW-Eau Claire, the MIAC meet, and a third place finish at UW-La Crosse.

 

GREAT LAKES REGION – Dan McGeary, Mount Union

McGeary won the Great Lakes meet in a blazing 24:22, finishing 1-2 with his teammate Alex Wilson.  It was the senior’s second and biggest win of the year after his win at the Penn State Behrend Invite in September.  The Worthington, Ohio, native has been 38th and 29th at the last two NCAA championships.

 

MIDEAST REGION – Charlie Marquardt, Haverford

Marquardt, a junior from Pasadena, California, won Saturday’s Mideast meet by two seconds over Widener’s Ernie Pitone.  It was his second straight win after taking the Centennial title two weeks ago.  Marquardt was 16th at regionals and 83rd at nationals a year ago.

 

MIDWEST REGION – Andrew Padgett, Washington (Mo.)

In just his second race of the fall, Padgett won the Midwest Region by eight seconds over UW-La Crosse’s Alex Ciesielski.  Padgett led start to finish, running 23:56 on the UW-Oshkosh course.  He’s a senior from St. Louis who won the Gil Dodds Invitational in his only other race this year.

 

NEW ENGLAND REGION – Colin Cotton, Williams

In 2013, Cotton finished second at his conference and regional meets behind Connecticut College’s Mike LeDuc. With the national champion now graduated, Cotton won the NESCAC two weeks ago and the New England Region on Saturday.  The senior from Cincinnati beat MIT’s Spencer Wenck by five seconds.

 

SOUTH/SOUTHEAST REGION – Ryan Gehman, Eastern Mennonite

Gehman, a senior, won the South/Southeast for his second win of the season.  He beat out Roanoke’s Harrison Toney by two seconds after losing to him by a second at the ODAC championship. The Millersville, Pa. native ran 25:32 at the Clara Bowl course.

 

WEST REGION – John Guzman, Occidental

For the second straight year, Guzman is the West Region and SCIAC champion.  He won by five seconds over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps’s Zorg Loustalet, who won the West in 2012.  Guzman finished sixth at NCAAs last year and is from Upland, California.

 

Men’s Coaches of the Year

ATLANTIC REGION – John Newman, St. Lawrence

St. Lawrence, led by John Newman in his 14th year with the program, after finishing fourth a year ago, took the region, 63-115, over nearest challenger SUNY Geneseo. The team’s top three went 3-7-11 in the region led by sophomore Thomas Caulfield. St. Lawrence won the Liberty League title with a 3-5-6-7-8 finish.

 

CENTRAL REGION – Phil Lundin, St. Olaf

Led by seventh-year coach Phil Lundin, St. Olaf claimed its third-straight region title, scoring just 21 points after landing the 1-3-4-5-8 regional finish spots. The Oles claimed the MIAC title by sweeping the top four individual finishes. The team finished third at the Roy Griak Invitational to UW-La Crosse and St. Thomas (Minn.)

 

GREAT LAKES REGION – Roger Busch, Wabash

The Little Giants led by Roger Busch in his ninth year at the helm, took the region crown for the second-straight year. The team’s top six all came in the race’s top 15, and the crew took the title, 46-135, over runner-up Mount Union. Wabash claimed the NCAC crown with a dominating 28 points.

 

MIDEAST REGION – Dario Donatelli, Carnegie Mellon

Led by Dario Donatelli in his 22nd year, Carnegie Mellon improved from its fifth-place showing in 2013 to take the region crown over four other nationally-ranked teams. The team finished second in the UAA Championships this fall to Washington (Mo.).

 

MIDWEST REGION – Al Carius, North Central (Ill.)

Led by Al Carius, who in his 49th year as the head of the Cardinals’ cross country program, North Central claimed its seventh-straight regional title, scoring 51 points, 57 ahead of nearest challenger UW-Eau Claire. The team nearly swept its way to a crown in the CCIW, with finishers crossing at 1-2-3-5-6-7-8.

 

NEW ENGLAND REGION – Jared Beers, Colby

Colby, led by ninth-year coach Jared Beers, are the decade’s turnaround kids. A year after finishing sixth in the region and just two years removed from placing 12th, the squad won the regional ahead of seven other nationally-ranked teams. Scoring 63 points, Colby won ahead of Amherst’s 69. The squad finished fourth in the ECAC D-III Championships and second in the NESCAC this fall.

 

SOUTH/SOUTHEAST REGION – John Curtin, Emory

After finishing runner-up last year, Emory led by John Curtin in his 30th year, won the region crown, 62-65, over nearest challenger Bridgewater (Va.). The team finished fifth at this season’s UAA Championships.

 

WEST REGION – John Goldhammer, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps

CMS, led by John Goldhammer in his 31st season, won the region for the second time in three years with a, 46-52, decision over runner-up and defending region champ Pomona-Pitzer. CMS claimed spots 2-7-8-11 for the title. The squad also claimed the SCIAC title over Pomona-Pitzer, 42-49, earlier in the fall.

 

Women’s Athletes of the Year

ATLANTIC REGION – Amy Regan, Stevens

Regan led start to finish and beat out the rest of the field by 21 seconds. A junior, Regan has not been beaten all fall.  The Green Brook, N.J., native was second in the Atlantic a year ago and scored notable wins this season in the Empire 8 league meet, Paul Short brown race, and the Saratoga Invitational.

 

CENTRAL REGION – Ruth Steinke, Carleton

Steinke won Saturday’s race easily, defeating All-Americans Tricia Serres and Kimber Meyer by nine and fifteen seconds. Previously this fall, the junior won the BluGold Invitational and MIAC championship.  Steinke, a junior from Lima, N.Y., was 88th at NCAAs last fall.

 

GREAT LAKES REGION – Cassandra Vince, Calvin

Vince, a sophomore, has now won both of the regional championships she’s raced in. After beating Oberlin’s Emma Lehmann by 14.1 seconds to win last year, she beat Lehmann by 22.4 seconds for this year’s win. The Amherst, Ohio native has won four out of five races in 2014, only losing at the UW-Oshkosh AAE Invitational.

 

MIDEAST REGION – Sophia Meehan, Johns Hopkins

Meehan led three Johns Hopkins runners in the top five to win her second straight race, this one by more than thirty seconds.  The junior is also the Centennial Conference champion.  A native of Haverford, Pa., Meehan finished second at the UW-Oshkosh AAE Invitational and was the first DIII finisher at the Lehigh Paul Short Run.

 

MIDWEST REGION – Lucy Cheadle, Washington (Mo.)

Cheadle, a senior from Seattle, won her second straight regional championship and fourth straight race in 2014.  In four years of regional meets, Cheadle has finished fourth, second, first, and first.  Her wins at Wheaton, UW-Oshkosh, and the UAA conference meet earned her National Athlete of the Week honors this season.

NEW ENGLAND REGION – Sarah Quinn, MIT

Quinn, a sophomore from Watchung, N.J., took the New England title for her third win of the season. She beat the field by eight seconds at Williams.  Quinn  won the Purple Valley Classic on the same course in September and the NEWMAC meet two weeks ago.

 

SOUTH/SOUTHEAST REGION – Teagan Young, Mary Washington

Young, a sophomore from Falls Church, Va., won Saturday’s regional meet by eight seconds over Bridgewater’s Kaylee Kubisiak.  This is her second straight win after taking the Capital Athletic Conference title.  Young also won the Don Cathcart Invitational in September.

 

WEST REGION – Maya Weigel, Pomona-Pitzer

In an upset, Weigel beat defending West Region champion Michaela Freeby by five seconds for her first career cross country win.  She finished second to two different athletes at the SCIAC Multi-Duals and the SCIAC championships.  Weigel is a sophomore from Los Altos, California.

 

Women’s Coaches of the Year

ATLANTIC REGION – Mike Howard, St. Lawrence

Coached by Mike Howard, in his 16th year leading the program, St. Lawrence reclaimed the top spot in the region with its fifth region title in a six-year span. In a tight team race, the squad defeated runner-up SUNY Geneseo, 50-51 with a 2-3-7-8 finish among the team’s top four. St. Lawrence nearly swept the top five spots to take the Liberty League crown with 16 points earlier this fall. They also won the NYSCTC crown this year.

 

CENTRAL REGION – Donna Ricks, Carleton

Coached by Donna Ricks in her 22nd year with the program, Carleton claimed its first region title since 2009 with a 60-81 triumph over nearest challenger St. Olaf. The squad won the MIAC title, 42-58, over St. Olaf and the UW-Eau Claire Blugold Invite, 49-105, also over St. Olaf.

 

GREAT LAKES REGION – Brian Diemer, Calvin

Calvin, led by Brian Diemer in his ninth year, took the crown for the second-straight year and the seventh time and eight years. This year’s region win was spurred by individual champ, sophomore Cassandra Vince. The squad’s top five finished all in the top 10 for the MIAA crown with 27 points.

 

MIDEAST REGION – Bobby Van Allen, Johns Hopkins

Bobby Van Allen’s team won its region for the seventh-straight year, claiming finishes 1-2-5-7-13 for 28 points to topple the field and nearest challenger Dickinson (99 points). The squad also won the Centennial Conference title this fall by a commanding, 20-52, margin with individual finishes 1-3-4-5-7-8.

 

MIDWEST REGION – Jeff Stiles, Washington (Mo.)

Coached by 14th-year coach Jeff Stiles, the Bears won the regional crown for the first time since 2011 with 62 points, 29 ahead of runner-up UW-La Crosse. Led by individual champ Lucy Cheadle, Wash-U grabbed three of the race’s top seven spots. The squad took the UAA league title, scoring 23 points to beat out the field and nearest challenger Chicago (60).

 

NEW ENGLAND REGION – Halston Taylor, MIT

MIT returned to the top of the region, following up its crown won in 2012. Coached by eighth-year coach Halston Taylor, the Engineers built a 40-65 victory over nearest challenger Middlebury with a 1-5-6-8 finish. The squad swept its way to the NEWMAC title and finished third in the open New England Championships this fall.

 

SOUTH/SOUTHEAST REGION – Matthew Barreau, Christopher Newport

Led by fourth-year coach Barreau, Christopher Newport is making its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Championships after placing second in a drama-filled regional. Barreau’s squad was initially out of automatic qualification as a tiebreaker would place the team in third place to Centre. After video review, it was a determined that the finish order of a CNU runner was flipped, resulting in a point-bump to the team score and an official second-place finish. The team improved from its eighth-place region showing a year ago.

 

WEST REGION – Matt McGuirk, Willamette

Willamette, led by 11th-year coach Matt McGuirk, snapped Claremont-Mudd-Scripps four-year winning streak as region champs with a 31-54 victory over CMS. Taking places 2-3-5-9-12, it was Willamette’s first region title since 2007. The team earlier in the fall scored 16 points for the Northwest Conference crown with a 1-2-3-4-6 showing.