Yote Notes – June 4,
2008
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Mike Safford Jr. – Sports
Info. Director
msafford@collegeofidaho.edu
ATHLETIC NEWS:
COYOTES SET BAR FOR CASCADE
CONFERENCE SCHOLARS: The
TACO
SAFFORD NAMED CCC SPORTS INFORMATION
DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR: For the second time in his seven years at The College of Idaho, sports
information director, Mike Safford Jr., was named the recipient of the Mike
Booth SID of the Year award, announced earlier this week by the Cascade
Conference. Safford, who also won the
award in 2003, was honored by his peers in balloting at the close of the
2007-08 school year.
His athletic publications have placed among the NAIA-SIDA Top-10 on 16 occasions,
including a pair of ‘Best in the Nation” awards, while maintaining key
relationships with Treasure Valley media members that have helped increase the visibility
of C of I athletics in the community.
Safford has been the radio voice of the Coyotes for the last seven
years, helping out on network broadcasts of basketball and baseball games at
NAIA Championships, and begins his fourth season as the voice of the Boise
Hawks of the Northwest League later this month.
He has broadcasted over 600 games since moving to
COYOTES FINISH FOURTH IN CCC
ALL-SPORTS AWARD: The
C of I finished the 2007-08 season fourth in the Cascade Conference All-Sports
Award standings, compiled by the CCC league office. Points are awarded based on
conference finish in a maximum of eight sports, with two points awarded for
each institution sponsoring a sport (if 11 teams sponsor a sport, the
first-place team receives 22 points, the second-place team 20 points, the third-place
team 18 points, etc.).
CAMPS OFFERED BY THE COYOTES: Three different C of I women’s teams
will be conducting summer camps this year – volleyball, softball and women’s
soccer.. For brochures and more information on them head to their respective
websites at www.collegeofidaho.edu/athlete/vball.htm,
www.collegeofidaho.edu/athlete/fastpitch.htm,
or www.collegeofidaho.edu/athlete/wmenssoccer.htm.
2008-09 LETTER OF INTENTS: The following are a list of
student-athletes (by sport) that have signed their NAIA Letter of Intent to
compete for the Coyotes next season.
Many others have signed, however, until their names have been released
to the media, they will not show up on this list. Volleyball – Courtney Bull (Century HS), Ciciley Fox (Challis HS), Alicin
German (Treasure Valley CC), Bryanne Gribble (Bishop
Kelly HS), Megan Spinks (East Union HS); Men’s Basketball – Brian Bergerson (Modesto CC), Londale Theus (New Mexico State); Women’s Basketball - Meghan
Hughes (Bishop Kelly HS), Katie Strunk (Walla Walla CC), Alexandria Hughes (Columbia Basin CC), Morgan Vander
Esch (Grangeville HS); Men’s Swimming – Kemp Smith
(Boise HS), Forrest Shoemaker (Curtis HS); Men’s Skiing – Jonathan Swatzburg (McQueen HS), Wesley Beougher
(Whitefish HS); Women’s Skiing – Gabrielle Gould (U. of Vermont), Sophie
Dresser (Borah HS).
YEAR IN REVIEW:
2007-08 BY THE NUMBERS:
48 All-Cascade Conference selections
46 Cascade Conference All-Academic Team
selections
42 NAIA/USCSA All-America Scholar-Athletes
28 Cascade Conference/NAIA Region I Player
of the Week selections
15 All-NAIA Region I selections
9 All-Northwest Collegiate Ski
Conference selections
8 NAIA All-America selections
8 Cascade Conference Player of the Year
selections
5 USCSA All-Americans
4 All-USCSA Western Region selections
2 Cascade Conference Coach of the Year
selections
2 NAIA Region I Player of the Year
selections
2 NAIA National Player of the Week
selections
2 NWCSC Individual Champions
1 USCSA National Champion
9 Teams ranked in the Top-25 or receiving
votes (men’s cross country, women’s cross country, volleyball, men’s skiing,
women’s skiing, men’s basketball, women’s
basketball, baseball, softball)
8 Teams competing at the National
Championships (men’s cross country, men’s swimming, women’s swimming, men’s
skiing, women’s skiing, softball, men’s
track, women’s track)
4 Conference Championships (volleyball, men’s
skiing, women’s skiing, baseball)
1 Regional Championship (softball)
Men’s Cross Country: A banner season for the Coyotes, as
The C of I advanced as a team to the NAIA Championships for the second time in
three years – placing 23rd.
The Yotes were led by Tyler Hopper, who placed second at the Cascade
Conference Championships and finished seventh at the NAIA Region I Meet. The squad was ranked in every national poll
during the year, rising as high as No. 14, and placed third at the CCC
Championships and fourth at the NAIA Region I Meet.
Women’s Cross Country: The Lady Yotes earned their
first-ever national ranking in 2007, rising as high as No. 14 in the NAIA poll,
while having their best season as a team.
Freshman Stephanie Helm led the charge, winning the CCC Championship and
earning CCC Athlete of the Year honors, helping the Lady Yotes to a
second-place team finish. The squad also
finished fifth at the NAIA Region I meet – their highest finish ever. Helm earned an at-large berth to the NAIA
Championships, where she had the highest-finish ever by a C of I runner, 31st-place.
Volleyball: The Lady Yotes claimed their
second-straight Cascade Conference regular-season championship, posting a 19-1
league record – sharing the title with
Women’s Soccer: A banner year for the Lady Yote booters, recording a 9-7-3 mark and their second-straight
postseason berth. The squad hosted their
first-ever home playoff game, defeating Cascade, 1-0, then
held a 1-0 lead at halftime against No. 4 ranked Concordia in the semifinals,
before falling 6-1. The Coyotes notched
their first-ever decision against a ranked team, playing Simon Fraser to a 0-0
draw, while earning their first-ever regional ranking in program history. Keeper Amy Rhoades was named NAIA Defensive
Player of the Week in September, while Katie Ball was named to the All-CCC
team.
Men’s Soccer: The Yotes were in playoff contention
until the final weekend of the season, finishing 11-6-1 – but a third-place
finish in the Cascade Conference kept the team out of the postseason. The C of I was led by NAIA All-American, Alex
Penrod, whle Kazuki Murata and Stephen Reinschmidt
earned All-CCC honors. The team scored
49 goals during the season – the highest total in the four years Brian Smith
has been head coach, while picking up Golden Goal victories over Olivet
Nazarene, Whitman, and
Men’s Basketball: The Coyotes recorded just their
third losing season in the past 26 seasons, finishing 13-18 on the year – but were
inches away from flip-flopping the record, as they had
the lead or were within one possession inside the final three minutes in eight
of their 18 losses (including two losses to NAIA champ, Oregon Tech). The squad did defeat Northwest Nazarene for
the third-straight time and played an exhibition game at Stanford. Josh Owen capped a banner season by earning
NAIA All-America honors, finishing his career as the only Coyote to record
1,500 points, 300 assists, and 150 steals in a career – while recording
30-points or more in three straight games.
Bryan Champ led the NAIA in steals and was named CCC Defensive Player of
the Year for the second-straight season.
Women’s Basketball: The Lady Yotes were a bucket away
from advancing to the NAIA Tournament for the first time since 2001, recording
a 19-11 overall record. The C of I
placed third in the CCC standings, thanks to the play of All-CCC guard Whitney
Clark and CCC Defensive Player of the Year, Christon
Vander Esch, advancing to the CCC Championship game
against
Swimming: Both C of I swim teams had quality
seasons, as the men’s team finished 12th and the women’s team 18th at the NAIA
Championships in
Skiing: The Coyote ski teams won their
sixth-straight Northwest Collegiate Ski Conference championships, as Lara Mann
picked up the women’s individual title and Dewey Moss took home the men’s
title. Both teams qualified for the USCSA
Championships, but struggled at the national meet, with the women placing 11th and
the men 12th. Moss earned All-America
honors in all three alpine events (slalom, giant slalom, combined), with Mann
earning All-America honors in the combined.
The Yotes had more success in snowboarding, as Evan Williams won his
fourth USCSA national title in four years, claiming the SlopeStyle
championship.
Men’s Track and Field: The Coyote track team finished sixth
at the 2008 Cascade Conference championships, but had banner individual
performances throughout the season.
Tyler Hopper won eleven races during the indoor and outdoor seasons,
claiming the All-Idaho Championship in the 800, the Cascade Conference title in
the 1,500 in CCC record-breaking time – earning Co-CCC Athlete of the Year
honors. Hopper was also a two-time
All-American, placing fifth at the NAIA Indoor Nationals in the 1,000 and sixth
at the NAIA Outdoor Nationals in the 1,500.
Another senior, Jesse Chlebeck, capped a solid
career by capturing the 10,000-meter championship at the CCC Meet and finished
13th at the NAIA Outdoor Nationals in the 10,000.
Women’s Track and Field: The Lady Yotes had their best season
ever, placing fourth at the Cascade Conference championships – including sweeping
the top-four spots on the podium in the 5,000-meters. Stephanie Helm took home the league title in the
5,000, the third-straight year that a C of I women’s runner has won the
race. On the national scene, Helm became
the Yotes first-ever All-American, placing second at the NAIA Indoor Nationals
in the 3,000-meters, while she joined Katie Ball and the 4x800 relay team at
the NAIA Outdoor Meet.
Women’s Tennis: After struggling to an 0-6 start to the season, the Coyotes battled back,
finishing the 2008 season with a 6-7 record.
Leading the squad was Kate Leadbetter with 12
wins, while Amanda McEldowney picked up a team-high
106 single-game victories. It marked the
end of the careers of three players – Kyla Westerberg,
Jenna McClean, and Karin Hayashida,
who combined for 91 career victories for the Yotes.
Baseball: The Coyotes won their
fourth-straight Cascade Conference championship in 2008 and claimed a share of
the NAIA Region I regular-season pennant for the second-straight year. With a 30-26 record, The C of I notched their
22nd-straight playoff berth and 25-win season, advancing to the regional title
game where they fell to eventual national champion,
Softball: The Lady Yotes began the year ranked
No. 14 in the NAIA, withstood a midseason slump, then
won nine of their final ten regular-season games to earn a berth in the NAIA
Region I Tournament. At the regional,
The C of I picked up their first ever win over Simon Fraser, then notched
back-to-back wins over host Oregon Tech to win the their first regional title
and berth in the NAIA Women’s World Series.
At Nationals, the Lady Yotes finished 14th – going 1-3 in pool play,
with two of the losses by one-run margins, finishing with a 28-20 mark. Katie Zillner was
named CCC and NAIA Region I Player of the Year, earning Second-Team All-America
honors – the first-ever All-American for the Lady Yotes, after recording a 17-8
record and a 1.53 ERA with 238 strikeouts.
Both Haley Butcher and Dani Villyard earned All-CCC and All-Region honors.
Golf: The Coyote golf teams competed
within the Cascade Conference for the first time, with both the men and women
finishing fourth in the loop standings.
Women’s golfer, April Patton, was named to the All-CCC Team, while both Cris Tietsort and Ben Coate finished among the Top-50 in the NAIA Region I
Tournament.