Hillsdale's Oren Named All-Region Athlete of the Year, 39 Achieve USTFCCCA All-Region Status

NEW ORLEANS – All-Region honorees for NCAA Division II Cross Country were recognized Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) following the weekend's NCAA regional championships meets. The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference put 39 runners (20 men, 19 women) on the achievement list.

Hillsdale's Emily Oren was recognized as Midwest Region Athlete of the Year after winning the regional meet.  Four Grand Valley runners beat Oren two weeks ago, but they were no match for her on Saturday. Oren beat Bellarmine's Emily Frith by eight seconds; the champ is a junior from Holland, Mich.

Grand Valley State's Jerry Baltes, in his 16th year, claimed both men's and women's coach of the year honors. Baltes led the Laker men to its 13th-straight region title with a 43-91 victory over runner-up Malone. The GVSU top five placed in the region race's top 12. The team also won the GLIAC crown with 33 points to Malone's 67. On the women's side, the Lakers won the region for the 14th-consecutive season with a 42-76 victory over runner-up Hillsdale as the squad had a 3-4-6-10-19 showing. GVSU swept the top four spots in the finish order at the GLIAC Championships for the league title, 21-61.

A total of 397 student-athletes (199 men and 198 women) earned the distinction by finishing among the top 25 individual finishers at one of the eight regional sites across the country.

Five teams put their entire varsity in the top 25. They would be the Adams State women, and the men of American International, Augustana (S.D.), Grand Valley State, and Lock Haven.

Adams State, Augustana, and Grand Valley State led the way with 12 combined honorees.  Stonehill had 11, and Roberts Wesleyan, Edinboro, and Chico State had 10.

Most regions were dominated by a single conferences. Remember, each region has 50 runners receive All-Region.  31 of the Central's came from the Northern Sun, 34 of the East's came from the Northeast-10, 39 of the Midwest's came from the GLIAC, and 40 of the South Central's came from the RMAC.  But none of those conferences top the PSAC, which provided the Atlantic Region with all 50 of its honorees.

The NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships will be held December 6 in Louisville, Kentucky, at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park as part of the 2014 NCAA Division II National Championships Festival. A live stream will be available on NCAA.com.