Ryan Cole, Five Runners Honored by Mountain West
10/30/2015 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Oct. 30, 2015
RENO, Nev. – Air Force head coach Ryan Cole was named the Mountain West Men's Coach of the Year and five runners earned all-conference honors this afternoon (Oct. 30), as action concluded at the 2015 MW Cross Country Championships in Reno, Nevada.
In his second year at the helm of the Falcons' distance program, Cole guided the 26th-ranked men's team to its first Mountain West team title in 12 years. With two of the top-three finishers representing the Academy, Air Force placed all five of its scoring runners in the top 21, and with 47 points, the Falcons matched the second-lowest conference total in program history to take the conference title.
Cole is the third Air Force coach to capture the Coach of the Year award from the Mountain West, joining Mark Stanforth (1999, 2003) and Juli Benson (2010). He is the fourth coach overall to claim the honor in any conference, as Stanforth (1994, 1996) and Ralph Lindeman (1991) earned the distinction from the Western Athletic Conference.
Four men and one woman were honored with all-conference distinction based on their performances in today's championship meet.
On the men's side, senior Patrick Corona and junior Kyle Eller earned first-team honors after placing second and third, respectively, while senior Dan Caddigan (10th) and junior Matt Dorsey (13th) were named to the second-team. Senior Hannah Everson picked up first-team status on the women's side after finishing third for the best placement by an Air Force female in the program's Division I history.
Everson, the only female first-team honoree in Air Force DI history, has claimed that status during each of the last three years and became the first member of the women's team to capture all-conference honors three times. Corona is also a three-time all-MW recipient, having earned second-team honors in 2013 and first-team status during each of the last two years. He is just the fourth Falcon to garner first-team honors multiple times.
It is the first all-MW award in cross country for Eller, Caddigan and Dorsey.
Players Mentioned
