Louisville Coaches Named USTFCCCA Southeast Region Men's Cross Country Staff of the Year
November 18, 2015 | Cross Country
Cardinals earn national honor after winning the NCAA Southeast Regional
LOUISVILLE, KY. -- The Louisville men's cross country staff has been named the 2015 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Southeast Region Men's Cross Country Staff of the Year, the organization announced today.
"It's an honor for our staff to receive this award," said head coach Dale Cowper. "Joe Walker has done a tremendous job of patiently developing this group of young men throughout the fall season. We need to give Rebecca Park and our medical staff a great deal of credit for working tirelessly to keep our students performing at the highest level. This honor represents the work our student-athletes, support staff, and coaching staff have put in. Many training deposits have been made over the last few years and I am excited to see the dividends of those efforts begin to pay off."
The Louisville staff guided the Cardinal men from outside the National Coaches' Poll to Southeast Region champs this past weekend. Louisville defeated five top-30 teams en route to their first-ever region title to secure an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships for its first appearance since 2010.
The Cardinals returned to the final USTFCCA Top 30 Poll at No. 14, earning 195 points. Earlier this season the Cardinals debuted at No. 17 in the poll. U of L's highest previous national ranking in the cross country coaches' poll was No. 13 in the 2007 season after winning their first ever BIG EAST Conference title.
U of L had four runners finish in the top 20 at the regional, Edwin Kibichiy led the Cardinals with a third place finish. Kibichiy clocked a career best time of 29:14.6 to lead the Cardinals. Senior Ernest Kibet finished sixth with a time of 29:26.3, just missing his personal best time. Newcomer Calvin Chemoiywo clocked a personal best time of 29:48.5 to finish 13th. Senior Japhet Kipkoech gave the Cardinals four runners in the Top 20. He finished 19th with a personal best time of 29:57.9.
The Cardinals will compete in the 2015 NCAA Championships Saturday (Nov. 21) at E.P. Tom Sawyer Park at 1:00 p.m.
"It's an honor for our staff to receive this award," said head coach Dale Cowper. "Joe Walker has done a tremendous job of patiently developing this group of young men throughout the fall season. We need to give Rebecca Park and our medical staff a great deal of credit for working tirelessly to keep our students performing at the highest level. This honor represents the work our student-athletes, support staff, and coaching staff have put in. Many training deposits have been made over the last few years and I am excited to see the dividends of those efforts begin to pay off."
The Louisville staff guided the Cardinal men from outside the National Coaches' Poll to Southeast Region champs this past weekend. Louisville defeated five top-30 teams en route to their first-ever region title to secure an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships for its first appearance since 2010.
The Cardinals returned to the final USTFCCA Top 30 Poll at No. 14, earning 195 points. Earlier this season the Cardinals debuted at No. 17 in the poll. U of L's highest previous national ranking in the cross country coaches' poll was No. 13 in the 2007 season after winning their first ever BIG EAST Conference title.
U of L had four runners finish in the top 20 at the regional, Edwin Kibichiy led the Cardinals with a third place finish. Kibichiy clocked a career best time of 29:14.6 to lead the Cardinals. Senior Ernest Kibet finished sixth with a time of 29:26.3, just missing his personal best time. Newcomer Calvin Chemoiywo clocked a personal best time of 29:48.5 to finish 13th. Senior Japhet Kipkoech gave the Cardinals four runners in the Top 20. He finished 19th with a personal best time of 29:57.9.
The Cardinals will compete in the 2015 NCAA Championships Saturday (Nov. 21) at E.P. Tom Sawyer Park at 1:00 p.m.
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