Nov. 9, 2006

SPOKANE, Wash. - Pee Wee Halsell of Western Washington University and Doris Heritage of Seattle Pacific University have been voted the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men's and Women's Cross Country Coaches-of-the-Year, respectively. It is the second GNAC Coach-of-the-Year award for both.

Halsell, who led the Vikings to their second GNAC men's title in four years, also won the award in 2003. A 1981 graduate of Wayland Baptist, he is in his 20th season as the cross country and track and field coach for WWU. His team finished fourth in last Saturday's NCAA Division II West Regional meet, just missing a national berth by three points.

In all, Halsell has won 14 Coach-of-the-Year career awards (seven in the GNAC), including four in men's outdoor track-and-field, four in women's outdoor track-and-field, two in men's indoor track-and-field and four in men's cross country.

Heritage, a 1964 graduate of Seattle Pacific, is in her 29th season at her alma mater. She led the Viking women to their third conference title in the past four years this fall and to a second-place finish in the NCAA West Region meet. Her team qualified for the NCAA national meet for the first time since 1999 and freshman Jessica Pixler won the individual women's title, becoming the first SPU individual regional champion since Bente Moe in 1985.

Heritage was also the GNAC Men's Coach-of-the-Year in 2004 when she led SPU to its first national meet appearance since 1961 and its first-ever at the NCAA Division II level. In addition to her two GNAC Coach-of-the-Year awards, she also has won six other Coach-of-the-Year awards prior to the formation of the conference including three consecutive PacWest awards between 1997 and 1999.

Heritage was a unanimous choice for the women's award. Halsell edged Alaska Anchorage's Michael Friess, a five-time GNAC Coach-of-the-Year award winner, 5-4 in the men's balloting.

Heritage's women's team and Friess' men's team will compete in the NCAA national meet next Saturday (Nov. 18) at Pensacola, Fla. Also representing the conference in the meet will be John Riak of Saint Martin's, Katie Hummel of Central Washington and Laura Carr of Alaska Anchorage.