SALEM, ORE. -- Matt McGuirk, head cross country coach at Willamette University, has been chosen Northwest Conference Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year after leading the Bearcats to the 2009 NWC Championship. McGuirk was chosen for the award by his fellow coaches in the NWC.
It was the seventh time McGuirk has been named NWC Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year. He previously received the honor in 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007.
The Bearcat men's team won its eighth NWC title in the past nine years (2001-07, 2009). It was Willamette's 19th NWC title in men's cross country since 1963.
Willamette claimed this year's championship with a team score of 32. WU's top five finishers concluded the 8-kilometer race by placing 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 8th and 15th in the individual results. Bearcat runners also took 16th and 17th.
The Bearcat men's team is ranked #12 in the NCAA Division III National Poll released on Nov. 4 by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Willamette will compete at the NCAA West Regional on Saturday, Nov. 14 at Prado Park in Claremont, Calif.
Matt McGuirk was chosen NWC Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year for the seventh time since 2001.
