NEW ORLEANS – National athletes and coaches of the year for the 2018 NCAA Division II Cross Country season were announced Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), following the running of the national championship meets this past weekend in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Marcelo Laguera of CSU-Pueblo and Sarah Berger of Grand Valley State were named the Men’s and Women’s National Athletes of the Year, respectively, after their individual victories at a muddy Schenley Park.
Berger, who finished runner-up last year as a senior at Walsh University, transferred to Grand Valley State as a graduate student and captured the individual title this past weekend. Berger was neck and neck with Elish Flanagan of Adams State until the homestretch, when she made her decisive move and won in 22:07.7. She received the Doris Brown Heritage Award.
Jerry Baltes of Grand Valley State swept the National Coach of the Year honors as his squads won both the men’s and women’s national titles.
After years of finishing national runner-up to Adams State in the men’s championship race, GVSU finally broke through in 2018. The Lakers won their first national title in program history this past weekend as they put four runners in the top-30 and won by 10 points over Colorado Mines.
The Lakers ran roughshod over the women's competition in adverse conditions as they totaled just 41 points, the fewest points scored by a team champion since Adams State put up 31 in 2004. Grand Valley State had five runners finish in the top-40, led by four in the top-10. This is the sixth time in the past nine years that Baltes has been honored with the Duane Vandenbusche Award.
