Cross Country All-Conference Teams Released

Hamilton’s Kosgei Makes History, Williams' Gossels Takes Women's MOP

HADLEY, Mass. – Senior Peter Kosgei (Kapsabet, Kenya) of Hamilton and Williams sophomore Jennifer Gossels (Sudbury, Mass.) claimed NESCAC Most Outstanding Performer honors following the 2010 NESCAC Cross Country Championships hosted by Hamilton College on Saturday, Oct. 30. The two harriers posted first place performances to earn medalist honors at the championship.

Covering his home course in 26:06.8, Kosgei made history on Saturday as he became the first individual to ever win the NESCAC individual title four times over the 28 years the event has been held. It was also the 26th varsity race that Peter the Great has earned medalist honors at over his career, as the 2008 NCAA champion won the 8-kilometer race by a margin of 16 seconds. In addtion, Kosgei received All-Conference First Team honors for the fourth year in a row.

While Kosgei ran away with the individual title, the four harriers behind him were separated by a mere 1.2 seconds, three of whom were First Team All-NESCAC members in 2009. Middlebury junior Michael Schmidt (Wilmette, Ill.) edged Williams junior Josephat Koima (Eldoret Rift Valley, Kenya) for second at the conference meet by eight-tenths of a second. Amherst junior Will Yochum (Goleta, Calif.) was right on Koima’s heels, coming in two-tenths of a second behind him. For Schmidt, it was the third consecutive year that he received All-NESCAC, while Yochum, the 2007 NESCAC Rookie of the Year, grabbed First Team accolades for the third time in his career (2007).

Connecticut College freshman Michael LeDuc (Canton, Conn.) completed the foursome, as he posted a time of 26:23.2, two-tenths of a second behind Yochum. LeDuc was also honored as the NESCAC Rookie of the Year with the top first year performance at the meet.

Rounding out the NESCAC Men’s Cross Country All-Conference First Team were Bates senior Devin Dilts (Roscoe, Ill.) and Middlebury freshman Gred Krathwohl (Ipswich, Mass.). Dilts moved up from last year’s Second Team with his best-ever showing at the NESCAC meet, placing sixth. Krathwohl was not far behind in seventh, as he was one of three Panthers to finish among the top 10.

After finishing sixth at her first NESCAC meet last fall, Gossels won the race this year with a time of 22:13.8 over the 6-kilometer course. Her performance not only earned her Most Outstanding Performer honors but also made her a member of the All-NESCAC First Team for the second year in a row. Joining Gossels from the Ephs was classmate Annie Dear (Olympia, Wash.). Dear shaved eight seconds off her 2009 time and went from 12th to 4th this past weekend. She also earned All-NESCAC recognition for the second-straight year after being named to the Second Team last season.

Middlebury first year Colette Whitney (High Bridge, N.J.) led the brigade of Panthers on the All-Conference First Team, as four of the seven selections hailed from the championship-winning team. Whitney paced the Panthers for the fifth time this fall with a second-place showing (22:23.2), and the performance was tops among rookies, making her NESCAC Rookie of the Year. Classmates Maddie Hubbell (Des Moines, Iowa) and Katie Rominger (Brooklyn, N.Y.) also earned All-NESCAC First Team, finishing third and seventh, respectively.

After earning Second Team honors in 2007, Middlebury junior Claire McIlvennie (Ithaca, N.Y.) joined Williams’ Gossels as the only repeat members of the First Team. McIlvennie was the fourth member from the Panthers to be recognized on the First Team, coming in sixth with a time of 22:47.7.

Amherst sophomore Ali Simeone (Stoneham, Mass.) was the final member of the 2010 NESCAC Women’s Cross Country All-Conference First Team. Simeone received All-NESCAC recognition for the first time with a fifth place finish at the conference championship.

Middlebury head coach Terry Aldrich swept the coaching honors, as his peers unanimously chose him as the Men’s and Women’s Coach of the Year. In his 36th and final year with the Panthers, Aldrich guided the Middlebury women’s team to its 11th NESCAC title - tying it with Williams for the most championships all-time. The Panthers posted a championship-record score of 26, the lowest total in the 28-year history of the event. In addition, Aldrich’s men’s team won the NESCAC crown for the first time ever, edging four-time defending NESCAC champ Williams by 16 points this past weekend.

Aldrich previously received recognition as the conference’s women’s coach of the year in 2000, 2001, 2008, and 2009. He has also been honored at the national level as coach of the year on five occasions, most recently in 2008 after the Panthers captured the NCAA crown. It is the first time that he has ever been named men’s coach of the year for the league.