The Fayetteville-Manlius girls of New York won their ninth NXN title this fall. Head coach Bill Aris was named the New York High School Coach of the Year by the USTFCCCA. Photo: Travis Miller
NEW ORLEANS - The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced Wednesday the state-by-state winners of its second annual High School Coach of the Year award for cross country.
One boys coach and one girls coach from each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia - as seen in the lists below - were honored for their successes during the fall of 2015, as selected by a committee of experts from around the nation.
State-by-state winners were selected based on their teams' performances throughout the 2015 cross country season. Among the factors taken into consideration were team score and placement at the state championships, margin of victory, performance against rankings if available, individual championships, and how their teams' performances stacked up to previous years (e.g. first title in school history, consecutive titles, etc.)
Each honoree will receive a trophy from the USTFCCCA recognizing his or her achievements.
The winners from each state are in consideration for the association's National High School Cross Country Coach of the Year award. One boys coach and one girls coach from among all the states will be selected by a panel of experts and be announced later this month as the national winners.
The full lists can be seen below.
ABOUT THE USTFCCCA
The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) is a non-profit professional organization representing cross country and track & field coaches of all levels. The organization represents over 9,000 coaching members encompassing 94% of all NCAA track & field programs (DI, DII, and DIII) and includes members representing the NAIA and NJCAA, as well as a number of state high school coaches associations. The USTFCCCA serves as an advocate for cross country and track & field coaches, providing a leadership structure to assist the needs of a diverse membership, serving as a lobbyist for coaches' interests, and working as a liaison between the various stakeholders in the sports of cross country and track & field.
2015 USTFCCCA Girls High School Cross Country Coaches of the Year | ||
| State | Coach Name | School |
| Alabama | Michael McGovern | Mountain Brook High School |
| Alaska | Bill Steyer | Homer High School |
| Arizona | Matt Lincoln | Chandler High School |
| Arkansas | Jeff Haynes | Trinity Christian School |
| California | Doug Soles | Great Oak High School |
| Colorado | Steve Rischling | Air Academy High School |
| Connecticut | Judi Lafontaine | Tolland High School |
| Delaware | Jennifer Carroll | St. Andrew's School |
| District of Columbia | Anthony Belber | Georgetown Day School |
| Florida | Tony Ryan | The Bolles School |
| Georgia | Amy Eubanks | Westminster Schools |
| Hawaii | Duncan MacDonald | Punahou School |
| Idaho | Greg Harm | Eagle High School |
| Illinois | Kevin Gummerson | Minooka High School |
| Indiana | Mark Ellington | Carmel High School |
| Iowa | Dan Davis | Urbandale High School |
| Kansas | Susan Nelgares | Manhattan-Ogden High School |
| Kentucky | Mark Fortney | Daviess County High School |
| Louisiana | Gerald Singer | Mandeville High School |
| Maine | Bob Morse | Yarmouth High School |
| Maryland | Becky Walter | Boonsboro High School |
| Massachusetts | Thomas Shaw | Milton High School |
| Michigan | Jeffrey Devantier | Seaholm High School |
| Minnesota | Matt Gabrielson | Edina High School |
| Mississippi | Charles Covington | Saltillo High School |
| Missouri | Scott Brandon | Lafayette High School |
| Montana | Clint May | Bozeman High School |
| Nebraska | Jayne Arens | Crofton High School |
| Nevada | Roy Session | Centennial High School |
| New Hampshire | Tim Cox Brent Tkaczyk | Coe-Brown Northwood Academy |
| New Jersey | Tim Mooney | Ridge High School |
| New Mexico | Kathy Hipwood Rob Hipwood | Los Alamos High School |
| New York | Bill Aris | Fayetteville-Manlius High School |
| North Carolina | Nick Mangum | Cardinal Gibbons High School |
| North Dakota | Kurt Zink | Hillsboro High School |
| Ohio | Dave Dobson | Centerville High School |
| Oklahoma | David Ayres | Bartlesville High School |
| Oregon | Daniel Neeway | Sunset High School |
| Pennsylvania | Greg Sargent | Pennsbury High School |
| Rhode Island | Kelly Martin | LaSalle Academy |
| South Carolina | Eric Cummings | Riverside High School |
| South Dakota | Todd Thorson | Ipswich High School |
| Tennessee | Cathy Cheeseman | Brentwood Academy |
| Texas | Steve Teleneus | Marcus High School - Watch His Journey HERE |
| Utah | Jody Benson | Timpanogos High School |
| Vermont | John Kerrigan | Harwood Union High School |
| Virginia | James Demarco | Blacksburg High School |
| Washington | Mike Smith | Liberty High School |
| West Virginia | David Aberegg | Berkeley Springs High School |
| Wisconsin | John Kashian | Pewaukee High School |
| Wyoming | Jeff Brazil | Jackson Hole High School |