yote notes - edition 14

COMING UP: Idle until Cascade Conference Championships, May 10-12, Klamath Falls, Ore.

LAST WEEK: at Oregon Relays (Eugene, Ore.), at Northwest Nazarene Invitational (Nampa, Idaho)

YOTES “TEAM OF THE WEEK”: For the first time this year, The C of I track and field team was honored as the Verizon-Cascade Conference Team of the Week, announced by the league office in La Grande, Ore.  The Yotes had a banner two-day stretch, competing at both the Oregon Relays in Eugene, Ore., and the Northwest Nazarene Invitational in Nampa, recording six new NAIA national marks, winning nine individual events, and establishing eight school records along the way.  It was the fourth time this year that a C of I team had earned the award – joining the baseball, softball, and volleyball teams.

HOLT/MONTGOMERY HIT “A” IN EUGENE: The Yotes sent six runners to the prestigious Oregon Relays at history Hayward Field in Eugene – with two of C of I’s All-Americans coming through with big performances.  Greg Montgomery (Boise, Idaho / Boise HS) placed fifth in his heat of the 5,000-meters, recording a time of 14:31.53 – a stellar time against a highly-competitive field, one of the Top-10 times in the NAIA this season.  Hillary Holt (Boise, Idaho / Mountain View HS) made her 2012 debut in the 1,500-meters, finishing in sixth-place, logging a time of 4:36.38 – the sixth-fastest time in the NAIA so far this year.

MONSTER MEET AT NNU: The remaining members of the Coyote team competed at the Northwest Nazarene Invite – opening it with a bang on Friday evening, as both the men’s and women’s 4x800 relay hit NAIA marks.  The Lady Yotes recorded an NAIA “A” standard with their time of 9:23.92 – the eighth-fastest time in the NAIA this season, while the men missed the “A” cut by just four-hundredths of a second – settling for a “B” mark with a time of 7:45.14, the fourth-fastest mark in the NAIA.  Melinda Fuimaono (Chula Vista, Calif. / Southwestern CC) continued her solid season in the throws, winning Friday’s javelin with a heave of 109-2.  Saturday was more of the same for the squad, as the women’s 4x100-relay team hit the NAIA “B” standard with their time of 48.32 – the first group of sprinters to qualify for Nationals.  Mike Hurd (Payette, Idaho / Payette HS) had a great day, tying the school record with a win in the 110-hurdles (15.15), placing second in the 100-meters (11.02) and recording the ninth-fastest 400-hurdles time (53.56) in the NAIA this season, recording an NAIA “A” mark in the process.  Diamond Mitchell (San Diego, Calif. / Eastlake HS) earned a win in the 100-meters (12.44), while Andre Archer (Caldwell, Idaho / Caldwell HS) continued his outstanding senior season, destroying his own triple jump record (47-6 1/2), hitting the “A” cut with the 12th-best leap in the NAIA.

RECORDS SMASHED: Other records fell by the wayside on Saturday, as Audrey Youren (Gooding, Idaho / Gooding HS) took over the CCC lead in the high jump, surpassing her own school record with a winning mark of 5-3 1/4.  Jessica Aguilar (Caldwell, Idaho /Caldwell HS) broke her own school record in the shot put (37-1 1/4), with Jasmine Sibert (Boise, Idaho / Centennial HS) breaking her own record in the 100-hurdles (15.16), while hitting the NAIA “B” standard with a second-place finish in the 400-hurdles (1:04.22).  A non-record breaking leap of 22-0 1/4 by Austin Basterrechea (Gooding, Idaho / Gooding HS) in winning the long jump was of note, as it was the second-best  mark by a Coyote since the program was reinstated in 2005.

REST BEFORE CONFERENCE MEET: The Yotes will be taking the next two weekends off from competition, training for the CCC Championships, to be hosted by Oregon Tech in Klamath Falls, Ore., May 10-12.  It will be the final opportunity for athletes to establish qualifying marks for the NAIA National Championships.

TOP CCC MARKS: Three C of I athletes currently have the top marks in their respective events in the CCC.  Diamond Mitchell leads the league in both the 100 and 200-meters, Audrey Youren leads the loop in the high jump, with Greg Montgomery holding the top time in the 5,000-meters.  Also, the women’s 4x100-relay team has the top time through last weekend.

NATIONAL LEADERS: A total of 10 athletes rank among the Top-20 in the NAIA through last weekend in their respective events.  Leading the way is both Austin Basterrechea and Sora Klopfenstein (Meridian, Idaho / Meridian HS), as Basterrechea is No. 4 in the decathlon and Klopfenstein is No. 4 in the 3,000-steeplechase.  Hillary Holt is No. 5 in the 1,500-meters, with Greg Montgomery (5,000-meters) and Mike Hurd (400-hurdles) both No. 9.  Sarah Johnson (Shelton, Wash. / Shelton HS) is No. 11 in the 1,500-meters, Andre Archer is No. 12 in the triple jump, Nick Hampton (Eagle, Idaho / Eagle HS) is No. 13 in the 800-meters, Jasmine Sibert is No. 19 in the 400-hurdles, with Dominic Bolin (Payette, Idaho / Payette HS) ranked No. 17 in the 800-meters and No. 18 in the 1,500-meters.  Three relays rank in the Top-20, as the men’s 4x800 is No. 4, the women’s 4x800 is No. 8, and the women’s 4x100 is No. 19.

QUALIFIERS: NAIA “A” Standard – Nick Hampton (800), Dominic Bolin (800, 1,500), Greg Montgomery (5,000), Austin Basterrechea (decathlon), Andre Archer (triple jump), Mike Hurd (400-hurdles, decathlon), Sora Klopfenstein (3,000-steeple), Sarah Johnson (1,500), Hillary Holt (1,500), Women’s 4x800-relay.  NAIA “B” Standard – Jason Hunt (Meridian, Idaho / Mountain View HS) (5,000), Kayloni Perry (Nine Mile Falls, Wash. / Lakeside HS) (1,500), Kenna Middleton (Nine Mile Falls, Wash. / Lakeside HS) (10,000), Jasime Sibert (400-hurdles), Women’s 4x100-relay, Men’s 4x800-relay. CCC Meet Standard – Mike Hurd (100, 200, 400, 110-hurdles, 400-hurdles, long jump, pole vault), Austin Basterrechea (200, 400, 110-hurdles, high jump, long jump, javelin, pole vault), Dominic Bolin  (800, 1,500), Nick Hampton (800, 1,500), Jason Hunt (1,500, 5,000, 10,000), Derek Janssen (Pocatello, Idaho / Pocatello HS) (800, 1,500), Sean Saxton (Meridian, Idaho / Rocky Mountain HS) (800), Greg Montgomery (1,500, 5,000), Andrew Hugill (Colorado Springs, Colo. / Coronado HS) (5,000, 10,000), Andre Archer  (long jump, triple jump), Felix Ikanzo (Nairobi, Kenya / UWC-Costa Rica) (200), Simon Boycott  (Mbabane, Swaziland / United World College) (triple jump), John Fronk (McCall, Idaho / McCall-Donnelly HS)  (100, 200, long jump), Diamond Mitchell (100, 200), Brittany Beame (Middleton, Idaho / Middleton HS) (100, 200), Jasmine Sibert (100, 100-hurdles, 400-hurdles, long jump, high jump), Hillary Holt (800, 1,500), Elynn Smith (Caldwell, Idaho / Vallivue HS) (800, 1,500), Sora Klopfenstein (1,500, 3,000-steeple, 5,000), Sarah Johnson (800, 1,500, 5,000), Kayloni Perry (800, 1,500), Kenna Middleton (5,000, 10,000), Kaitlyn Gerard (Kimberly, Idaho / Kimberly HS) (800, 1,500, 5,000), Andi Hayes (Fort Collins, Colo. / Poudre HS) (5,000, 10,000), Stevee Alletag (McCall, Idaho / McCall-Donnelly HS) (100-hurdles, 400-hurdles), Audrey Youren (long jump, triple jump, high jump), Lexis Lange (Ephrata, Wash. / Ephrata HS) (100, 200, pole vault), Candace Crew (Boise, Idaho / Capital HS) (high jump, triple jump, javelin), Hailey Bull (Caldwell, Idaho / Caldwell HS) (100, long jump, triple jump, high jump), Melinda Fuimaono (shot put, discus, javelin), Jessica Aguilar (shot put, discus, javelin), Eulalia Kafari (Boise, Idaho / Bishop Kelly HS) (discus).

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.