11/27/2007 - GoDucks.com

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. – Several accomplished members of the University of Oregon cross country programs were honored with Pacific-10 Conference awards in a vote by conference coaches, Commissioner Tom Hansen announced Tuesday.

On the men’s side, All-American and redshirt junior Shadrack Kiptoo-Biwott was selected as the Pac-10 Men's Athlete of the Year. A month ago, he captured his first Pac-10 individual crown and became the 12th Oregon runner to achieve the honor. Afterwards, the third-year Duck and graduate of LaCueva High School in Albuquerque added third place in the NCAA West Regional and ninth in the NCAA Championships to help lead top-ranked UO squads to team titles in all three events.

Other Duck men previously honored in the event’s nine-year history include All-America junior teammate Galen Rupp (2006) and Steve Fein (1999).

Also on the men's side, redshirt freshman A.J. Acosta claimed Men’s Newcomer of the Year laurels. The Oceanside, Calif., native was the top freshman finisher in the Pac-10 Championships (12th overall), and also ran in the West Regional (24th) and NCAA Championships. He is the third Oregon runner to earn Newcomer of the Year honors, joining Jason Hartmann who claimed the honor in 1999 and sophomore Diego Mercado, last year's honoree.

Kiptoo and Rupp - the top two finishers in the 2007 Pac-10 Championships - were tabbed to the All-Pac-10 First Team for their top-seven finishes, and four other Duck men - junior Scott Wall (11th), Acosta (12th), sophomore Kenny Klotz (12th) and redshirt freshman Andrew Wheating (14th) were honored on the All-Pac-10 Second Team.

On the women’s side, Duck freshman Alexandra Kosinski also claimed Newcomer of the Year honors. The All-American from El Dorado Hills, Calif., was the top freshman finisher in the Pac-10 Championships (third), then took sixth in the NCAA West Regional and 13th in the NCAA Championships. She is the first Oregon runner to earn Pac-10 Women's Newcomer of the Year honors.

Kosinski was joined on the All-Pac-10 First Team by sophomore Nicole Blood who finished fourth in the Pac-10 Championships, then placed second in the West Regional and eighth in the NCAA Championships to also stake All-America honors.

For the second straight season, Oregon’s third-year mentor Vin Lananna was recognized as the Pac-10 Conference Men’s Coach of the Year. Lananna guided the UO men to successful defenses of their Pac-10 and West Regional titles, and the school's fifth NCAA championship.

Among other honors announced Tuseday, Stanford senior Arianna Lambie won Women’s Athlete of the Year accolades for the third consecutive year after she won her third league individual title, followed by top-10 finishes in the West Regional and NCAA Championships (fifth / ninth). Stanford head coach Peter Tegen was honored as the Women’s Coach of the Year for the second straight year as the Cardinal successful defended their title and won Pac-10 and West Regional team titles, while Oregon placed second in all three races.

2007 PAC-10 CROSS COUNTRY HONORS

MEN'S ALL-PAC-10

First Team
Shadrack Kiptoo-Biwott, Jr., Oregon
Galen Rupp, Jr., Oregon
Russell Brown, Sr., Stanford
Austin Ramos, Sr., UCLA
Hari Mix, Jr., Stanford
Neftalem Araia, Sr., Stanford
Yosef Ghebray, Jr., California

Second Team
Mark Matusak, Jr., California
David Torrence, Sr., California
Kyle Alcorn, Sr., Arizona State
Scott Wall, Jr., Oregon
Andrew Acosta, Fr., Oregon
Kenny Klotz, So., Oregon
Andrew Wheating, Fr., Oregon

Athlete of the Year
Shadrack Kiptoo-Biwott, Jr., Oregon

Newcomer of the Year
A.J. Acosta, Fr., Oregon

Coach of the Year
Vin Lananna, Oregon


WOMEN'S ALL-PAC-10

First Team
Arianna Lambie, Sr., Stanford
Teresa McWalters, Sr., Stanford
Alexandra Kosinski, Fr., Oregon
Nicole Blood, So., Oregon
Jenna Kingma, Jr., Arizona State
Anita Campbell, Jr., Washington
Ali Kielty, So., Arizona State

Second Team
Isley Gonzalez, Sr., Washington State
Katie Follett, So., Washington
Lauren Centrowitz, Sr., Stanford
Sarah Cocco, Fr., USC
Kari Hardt, So., Arizona State
Marie Lawrence, Fr., Washington
Kate Niehaus, So., Stanford

Athlete of the Year
Arianna Lambie, Sr., Stanford

Newcomer of the Year
Alexandra Kosinski, Fr., Oregon

Coach of the Year
Peter Tegen, Stanford

* - All-Conference teams determined by order of finish at the Pac-10 Championships.


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