yote notes - edition 7

COMING UP: Idle until Pacific Preview, March 17.

LAST WEEK: at NAIA Indoor National Championships

COYOTE MEN HAVE MONSTER MEET: Only four C of I men made the trip cross-country, but the quartet was able to score 12 team points – the most recorded a Coyote men’s team in program history.  The Yotes finished in a tie for 16th overall – the best finish ever by a C of I team (either gender), as the 2008 women’s team placed 21st, with the men’s team placing 31st in 2008.

TWO TOP-10’S IN HEPTATHLON: The meet started with a bang for the Yotes, as both Mike Hurd (Payette, Idaho / Payette HS) and Austin Basterrechea (Gooding, Idaho / Gooding HS) had outstanding performances in the heptathlon.  Basterrechea set a school record with his total of 4,987 points, earning All-America honors with a fifth-place finish, while Hurd set two school records in placing tenth – recording a personal best mark of 4,847. Basterrechea had a big first day, setting an indoor record with his leap of 22-3 1/2 in the long jump, then rallied after an average pole vault to win the 1,000-meters.  Hurd won the 60-meter dash, tying the school record with his time of 7.11, while setting a new school record in the pole vault (13-3 3/4).

TWO ALL-AMERICANS IN THE MILE: The remaining two C of I men’s athletes both had outstanding performances – each in the mile run.  Dominic Bolin (Payette, Idaho / Payette HS) advanced to the 10-man final automatically by placing third in his preliminary heat, while Greg Montgomery (Boise, Idaho / Boise HS) advanced via his prelim time – the last qualifier in.  Montgomery made the most of his opportunity, crushing his season-best time by over 10 seconds, smashing an eight-year-old school record, and recording the best finish ever by a C of I men’s runner with a third-place finish in the final.  The junior’s time of 4:07.44 was nearly three seconds faster than David Fluckiger ran in the event in 2005, and less than a second away from winning a national title.  Bolin placed seventh – also faster than the former record (4:08.41), as both earned All-America honors.

CLASS BY HIMSELF: With the indoor All-America honor, Greg Montgomery became the first-ever C of I runner to earn five All-America awards and the first to earn an award in all three running disciplines.  Montgomery is a three-time cross country All-American, while earning an All-America honor last year in outdoor track in the 10,000-meters.  Stephanie Helm was a four-time All-America recipient, twice earning the honor indoors and in cross country.

TOUGH BREAK FOR LADY YOTES: It was a rough three days in Ohio for the Lady Yotes, as illness and injuries played a big role on the team.  A leg injury forced Hillary Holt (Boise, Idaho / Mountain View HS) to scratch from both the distance medley relay and the mile run – which she was the No. 2 qualifier, while top distance specialist Sora Klopfenstein (Meridian, Idaho / Meridian HS) was under the weather during the trip.  The DMR placed sixth in their heat and 12th overall – four spots out of the runner for the final, while Klopfenstein willed her way to a 15th-place finish in the 3,000-meters.  The best performance by the Yotes was from senior Kayloni Perry (Nine Mile Falls, Wash. / Lakeside HS), who placed ninth in the 800-meters, one spot out of qualifying for the finals.

RECORDS BROKEN: A total of eight men’s records and four women’s records were established during the 2012 season.  Mike Hurd set records in the 60 (7.11), 60-hurdles (8.51), and the pole vault (13-3 3/4), Austin Basterrechea set marks in the high jump (6-6 1/4), long jump (22-3 1/2), and the heptathlon (4.987), with Greg Montgomery notching the record in the mile (4:07.44) and Sean Saxton (Meridian, Idaho / Rocky Mountain HS) in the 800 (1:55.89). Women’s records included Hillary Holt in the 800 (2:15.55) and the mile (4:56.02), with Jasmine Sibert (Boise, Idaho / Centennial HS) setting a mark in the 60-hurdles.  Holt and Sibert joined Kayloni Perry and Sarah Johnson (Shelton, Wash. / Shelton HS) to break the DMR record (12:07.60), with Audrey Youren (Gooding, Idaho / Gooding HS) hitting a new high jump record (5-1 3/4).

A WEEK OFF BEFORE OUTDOOR SEASON BEGINS: The Yotes will take a week off for training, before the entire team opens up the 2012 outdoor campaign in Forest Grove, Ore., at the Pacific Preview.

ABOUT THE COACH: Pat McCurry enters his eighth year at the helm of the track & field and cross country programs at The C of I. In eight years (after the Coyote running programs were dormant for nearly 30 years), McCurry has built the Coyote men and women into perennial NAIA Top-25 programs - with the men’s cross country team earning six berths to the NAIA Championships, with the Lady Yotes advancing to four-straight NAIA meets, winning the 2008, 2009, and 2011 CCC titles, with his 2011 squad placing seventh at Nationals.  For his efforts, McCurry was named 2008, 2009, and 2011 CCC women's cross country Coach of the Year. Student-athletes have claimed 18 individual CCC titles on the track, 11 NAIA All-American awards in cross country and track & field, seven All-NAIA Region I awards in cross country, 38 All-CCC awards in cross country - along with 67 NAIA All-America Scholar-Athlete awards.   Prior to his arrival at The C of I, McCurry was an assistant coach at his alma mater, Eastern Oregon University, helping EOU to a national runner-up finish at the 2002 NAIA Men’s Cross Country Championships and the 2003 CCC title in men’s track & field. As an athlete at EOU from 1997-1999, McCurry claimed two consecutive CCC titles at 5000-meters and finished eighth at the NAIA Championships at 10,000-meters. His best athletic years came after college while running for Nike Portland, and later the Eastside Track Club - where at the 2003 University of Oregon Preview Meet, the Coyote skipper took home the title in the 3000-meters and has a personal best of 8:13 at that distance. He also holds the Willamette Invitational meet record and Charles Bowles track record at 10,000-meters from his 2004 performance there. McCurry has also claimed the title at many Treasure Valley area races, including the infamous Race to Robie Creek in 2005, 2009. and 2010, along with the City of Trees marathon.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: For more on The C of I track and field program, head to the official homepage of the Coyotes, http://www.collegeofidaho.edu/trackandfield.