Ted Castaneda has been named Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year after guiding the Tigers to their second conference title in three years and an at-large spot in the NCAA Division III Championship.
Castaneda also earned the honor in 2007.
Led by 2009 Men's Runner of the Year Jackson Brainerd, who claimed the SCAC individual title with a time of 24:29.60, CC also saw Dan Kraft (24:58.10), Andrew Wagner (25:10.80) and Dave Wilder (25:15.60) earn all-conference recogntion by finishing fourth, ninth and 10th respectively, at the league championship meet. The Tigers finished with 45 points - 13 points ahead of DePauw University.
Two weeks later, Colorado College finished third at the NCAA West Regional. Brainerd became the third Tiger to win a regional crown, but the first to do it as a sophomore.
He came from behind in the last five meters to edge Occidental’s Eric Kleinsasser by .016 of a second with a time of 25:26.65 on the Pomona College campus course.
Last Saturday, at the Division III national meet in Cleveland, Ohio, the Tigers took 25th place in a field of 32 teams with 557 points, 13 fewer than Manchester College. CC entered the meet ranked No. 30 by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
Brainerd earned All-America honors with an 18th-place finish, covering the 8,000-meter course at the Highland Park Golf Course in a time of 25:54.70.
Earlier this season, the Tigers won the Colorado College Invitational and extended their winning streak at Southwestern College’s NAIA Mid-States Classic to three years in a row.