The 2007 Big West Cross Country awards have a feeling of familiarity as Cal Poly swept the awards on the men's side and UC Santa Barbara accomplished the same on the women's end. The two schools claimed five of the six awards a year ago.
On the men's side, the 28th-ranked Mustangs saw Phillip Reid named the Athlete of the Year, Carl Dargitz claim Freshman of the Year and head coach Mark Conover tabbed the Coach of the Year.
Reid, a two-time Big West Athlete of the Week in 2007, took home the Big West individual title at the conference meet after blistering the 8K race in 25:12.4, a course record. He becomes the first back-to-back winner of the Men’s Athlete of the Year award since Cal Poly’s Adam Boothe accomplished the feat in 1999 and 2000. Reid also ran the top 8K time in the conference this season, running the 8K course at the Pre-Nationals meet in 23:46.4.
Dargitz becomes the third Cal Poly athlete in as many years to claim the Freshman of the Year award. He ran extremely well for the Mustangs in his first year of competition, evidenced by his 15th place finish at the Big West Championships. He was the highest freshman finisher at the conference meet and the leading runner for Cal Poly at the Cal Poly Invitational, completing the course in 26:26.6.
Conover piloted the Cal Poly program to a conference-record fifth conference championship on the way to his sixth Coach of the Year honor. He sits second all-time in Big West history in Coach of the Year awards, just one behind current UC Irvine coach Vince O’Boyle. This season, Conovor led the Mustangs to one of their finest seasons ever, highlighted by a 10th place finish in the White Race at Pre-Nationals, eighth at the Bill Dellinger Invitational and the first-ever perfect score at the Big West Championships.
On the women's side, Bethany Nickless took home her first Big West Athlete of the Year honor, Breanne Strenkowski was named the Freshman of the Year and Gaucho head coach Pete Dolan claimed the Coach of the Year honor.
Nickless, who won two Athlete of the Week awards this season, continued the tradition of strong UCSB runners with her Athlete of the Year award, marking the fifth time in the last seven years a Gaucho has claimed the honor. She finished second at the Big West Championships after an eighth place finish a season ago. Nickless was very impressive down the stretch for 27th-ranked UC Santa Barbara, including a 22nd place finish at Pre-Nationals and a seventh place finish at the Roy Griak Invitational.
Strenkowski becomes the first UCSB runner to claim Freshman of the Year in the three-year history of the award. She was the highest freshman finisher at the Big West Championships, running the 6K course in 22:57.1 for 22nd place. Strenkowski was solid all year in her first season at UCSB, posting times of 23:41 at the Roy Griak and 22:24 at Pre-Nationals.
Dolan led the Gauchos to another strong season on the way to his second consecutive Coach of the Year award and seventh overall. His nationally-ranked Gauchos won their second straight Big West crown and fourth in the last five seasons. UCSB also had a number of impressive finishes on the national level, highlighted by a fourth place finish at the Roy Griak Invitational, 11th in the Pre-Nationals Blue Division race and second at the Aztec Invitational.
2007 Men's Athlete of the Year - Phillip Reid, Cal Poly
2007 Men's Freshman of the Year - Carl Dargitz, Cal Poly
2007 Men's Coach of the Year - Mark Conover, Cal Poly
2007 Women's Athlete of the Year - Bethany Nickless, UC Santa Barbara
2007 Women's Freshman of the Year - Breanne Strenkowski, UC Santa Barbara
2007 Women's Coach of the Year - Pete Dolan, UC Santa Barbara