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June 1, 2009

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Western Washington University sprinter Ellie Siler was named Female Freshman of the Year and Pee Wee Halsell received Women's Coach of the Year honors among the 2009 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and Field awards announced today.

Siler, who graduated from Lewis & Clark High School in Spokane, earned U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-America honors, placing fifth in the 400 meters (55.46) at the NCAA Division II National Championships. In the national semifinals, she ran a school record 54.49, the second-fastest time in GNAC history.

Siler also helped the Vikings to GNAC season-best times in both the 4x100 (47.88) and 4x400 (3:49.70) relays. Both were the second-fastest clockings in school history.

Halsell's Coach of the Year award was his seventh GNAC honor and 16th league award overall. He is completing his 22nd year as cross country and track coach at Western.

Halsell directed the Viking women to 17th place at nationals with four All-America performances and three team titles at scored meets during the regular season.

In all, Halsell has received five league Coach of the Year honors in women's outdoor track, five in men's cross country, four in men's outdoor track and two in men's indoor track.

Under Halsell's guidance, 63 Vikings have earned All-America honors in track and 20 in cross country. He also has had 28 Academic All-Americans in track and 21 in cross country and his teams have had 10 Top 10 national meet finishes in cross country and two in track.

GREAT NORTHWEST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

Registe, Puga Repeat as GNAC Track Athletes of the Year

SPOKANE, Wash. --- David Registe of Alaska Anchorage and Ashley Puga of Northwest Nazarene have been selected the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Male and Female Track and Field Athletes of the Year for the second year in a row.

Registe, a junior from Palmer, Alaska, finished second in the NCAA Division II national meet in the long jump with a GNAC-record leap of 25-11 ½. He also posted the best time in the conference during the season in the 200 meters (21.91).

Puga, a senior from Meridian, Idaho (Nampa Christian High School) scored 11 points at the NCAA national meet, winning the 800 meters (2:07.24) and finishing eighth in the 1500 meters (4:35.45).

She had season-best times of 2:05.23 in the 800 meters, 4:23.17 in the 1500 and 43.20 in the 400 meters. Her 800 time is a GNAC record, while her 1500 and 400 times rank second and fourth in GNAC history.

In addition to Registe, UAA athletes also won two other awards. Marko Cheseto (So., Kapenguria, Kenya) was selected the GNAC Male Newcomer of the Year and Alfred Kangogo (Eldoret, Kenya) was chosen as the GNAC Male Freshman of the Year. Janae Larson of Seattle Pacific and Ellie Siler of Western Washington were voted the GNAC Female Newcomer and Freshman of the Year, respectively.

Cheseto won a pair of All-American awards at the national meet, placing fourth in the 5,000 (14:25.82) and seventh in the 10,000 (30:28.81). He set GNAC records in both events with season-best marks of 14:02.45 and 29:08.28. Kangogo placed 14th in the national meet in the 1500 after running the third best time (3:50.04) in GNAC history during the regular-season.

Larson (So., Puyallup, WA) finished 17th in the national meet in the 10K. She had a season-best time of 35:25.72, which ranks third in GNAC history.

Siler (Fr., Spokane, WA - Lewis & Clark) placed fifth in the 400 at the national meet (55.46) after running the second fastest time in GNAC history in the national semifinals (54.49). She also led the Vikings to GNAC season-best times in both the 4x100 (47.88) and 4x400 (3:49.70) relays.

Michael Friess of Alaska Anchorage and Pee Wee Halsell of Western Washington were voted the GNAC Male Team and Female Team Coach of the Year, respectively.

Friess, a 1985 graduate of Linfield College, led Alaska Anchorage to a 14th place finish at the NCAA national meet as four different UAA athletes won a total of five All-American awards. It was the second consecutive Coach of the Year award for Friess, who shared the award a year ago with Mike Johnson of Western Oregon.

Halsell's Coach of the Year award was his seventh GNAC Coach of the Year award, but his first for a women's sport. Halsell, who is a 1981 graduate of Wayland Baptist, previously had been selected the GNAC Men's Coach of the Year for outdoor track (2005), indoor track (2005 and 2006) and cross country (2003, 2006 and 2007).