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June 12, 2012

Men's USTFCCCA Program of Year

Women's USTFCCCA Program of Year

NEW ORLEANS -- The Washington State men's track and field/cross country program finished 19th in the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division I Program of the Year award standings for the 2011-12 academic school year.

The USTFCCCA men's Program of the Year Awards, in its fourth year, is given annually to the program that had the best combined team finishes in each of the NCAA's cross country/track and field sports in a given academic year. In order to be eligible for the award, programs must have teams qualify for each of the NCAA Championships. Scoring is based on the team's finish at each NCAA Division I Championship in cross country, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field (i.e. 1st = 1 point, 2nd = 2 points, 31st = 31 points) with the lowest total score for all three championships combined determining the award recipient. Ties among schools split points for positions taken.

The Washington State track and field program is led by Head Coach Rick Sloan who just completed his 39th year with the program. The Cougars staff includes Associate Head Coach Debra Farwell, Cross Country Head Coach Pete Julian, and track and field Assistant Coaches Mark Macdonald, Ellannee Richardson and Matt McGee.

The Cougar men's cross country team finished 21st at the 2011 NCAA Championships and Stephan Scott-Ellis scored at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships as well as the NCAA Outdoor Championships to give the WSU program a score of 130. Florida State (25 points) won the men's award, called the John McDonnell Program of the Year Award, in a very close margin over Indiana (26 points) and Texas (27.5 points). Fellow Pac-12 member Stanford was the only other conference program in the top 20 with a sixth-place finish.

"I think this is a step in the right direction and obviously we want to finish higher in all three national championships," Sloan said. "When you see that there are only 20 Division I teams in the entire country that scored at each of the three major championships - cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field - it is pretty special for Washington State to be in that category. We are in very elite company but this is not something we will be satisfied with. This is a step to move us in the right direction and to bigger and better things."

The Oregon women's program won the USTFCCCA's Terry Crawford Program of the Year award for 2011-12 with eight points followed by Stanford (29.5 points) and Washington (35 points). Other Pac-12 Conference programs among the 16 women's program honored included Arizona (7th), California (11th), and Arizona State (14th).

To see the list of men's and women's programs honored this year, click on the PDF above and to see past programs honored, go to www.ustfccca.org.