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Pac-12 announces 2017 cross country honors

Oct 31, 2017
Eric Evans Photography

Stanford’s Grant Fisher Named Men’s Athlete of the Year
Colorado’s Dani Jones Named Women’s Athlete of the Year
Oregon’s Cooper Teare Named Men’s Freshman of the Year
California’s Brie Oakley Named Women’s Freshman of the Year
Stanford’s Miltenberg, Colorado’s Wetmore Named Men’s, Women’s Coach of the Year

SAN FRANCISCO - The Pac-12 Conference announced on Tuesday the recipients of the 2017 Men’s and Women’s Cross Country All-Conference honors. On the men’s side, STANFORD’s Grant Fisher was named Athlete of the Year, while OREGON’s Cooper Teare was tabbed Freshman of the Year. For the women, COLORADO’s Dani Jones was named Athlete of the Year and CALIFORNIA’s Brie Oakley was tabbed Freshman of the Year. Stanford's Chris Miltenberg was voted the Pac-12 Men’s Coach of the Year, while Colorado's Mark Wetmore took home his third consecutive Pac-12 Women's Coach of the Year honor.

Grant Fisher (Grand Blanc, Mich.) became the seventh Stanford runner to capture the men's individual crown at the Conference championship, the first since Elliott Heath in 2010. Fisher, last year’s Pac-12 runner-up at the cross country meet, displayed the finishing kick that propelled him to the outdoor 5,000-meter run title at the 2017 NCAA Championships last June as he pulled away over the final 150 meters for a three second victory.

Cooper Teare (Alameda, Calif.) was the highest freshman finisher in the field at the Pac-12 Championships with a time of 23:59.4, placing eighth to pace Oregon and earn second team All-Pac-12 honors. Teare is the league-leading seventh Duck to take home the Conference's top rookie honor, joining the likes of Jason Hartmann, Diego Mercado, A.J. Acosta, Luke Puskedra, Trevor Dunbar and Edward Cheserek.

Dani Jones (Phoenix, Ariz.) is the first Colorado runner to earn Pac-12 Cross Country Athlete of the Year after she became the first Buffaloes' woman to win the league individual championship on Friday. Third behind Washington’s Amy-Eloise Neale and former teammate Erin Clark in 2016, Jones pulled away from Neale and course-record holder Katie Rainsberger over the final 100 meters for the victory. It marked Jones’ third Conference title in the calendar year as she also captured the 1,500- and 5,000-meter crowns at the 2017 Pac-12 Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

Brie Oakley (Centennial, Colo.) finished 12th at the Pac-12 Championships, the highest freshman finisher in the field, in a time of 19:14.7 to earn second team All-Pac-12 honors. She is the first Cal women's runner to earn Pac-12 Freshman of the Year accolades and just the second Golden Bear to win a major Conference award, joining 2005 Freshman of the Year Mark Matusak.

Now in his sixth season on The Farm, Miltenberg collects his first Pac-12 Coach of the Year honor after leading Stanford to the 2017 league title, which ended Colorado's six-year run atop the podium. He is the sixth Cardinal coach to claim the award, joining Brooks Johnson, Peter Tegen, two-time winners Andrew Gerard and Jason Dunn, and five-time recipient Vin Lananna.

Colorado's Wetmore earns a Conference Coach of the Year honor for the seventh consecutive season and his ninth in total (six men's, three women's) since his Buffaloes' program joined the Pac-12. Wetmore's nine combined Pac-12 Cross Country Coach of the Year awards are the third-most in Conference history, trailing only the 11 won by Lananna and Bill Dellinger.

2017 PAC-12 CROSS COUNTRY HONORS*

MEN’S ALL-PAC-12
First Team
Robert Brandt, Jr., UCLA
Steven Fahy, Jr., Stanford
Grant Fisher, Jr., Stanford
Ryan Forsyth, Jr., Colorado
Joe Klecker, So., Colorado
Mahmoud Moussa, Jr., Washington
Alex Ostberg, So., Stanford

Second Team
Garrett Corcoran, Sr., California
Andrew Gardner, Sr., Washington
Eduardo Herrera, Fr., Colorado
Adam Peterman, Sr., Colorado
Garrett Reynolds, So., UCLA
Cooper Teare, Fr., Oregon
Chandler Teigen, Jr., Washington State

Men's Athlete of the Year
Grant Fisher, Jr., Stanford

Men's Freshman of the Year
Cooper Teare, Fr., Oregon

Men's Coach of the Year
Chris Miltenberg, Stanford

WOMEN’S ALL-PAC-12
First Team
Lilli Burdon, So., Oregon
Vanessa Fraser, Sr., Stanford
Dani Jones, Jr., Colorado
Grayson Murphy, Sr., Utah
Amy-Eloise Neale, Sr., Washington
Fiona O’Keeffe, So., Stanford
Katie Rainsberger, So., Oregon

Second Team
Chelsey Albertson, Sr., Arizona State
Kaitlyn Benner, Sr., Colorado
Jessica Hull, Jr., Oregon
Sage Hurta, So., Colorado
Bethan Knights, Sr., California
Vallery Korir, Jr., Washington State
Brie Oakley, Fr., California

Women's Athlete of the Year
Dani Jones, Jr., Colorado

Women's Freshman of the Year
Brie Oakley, Fr., California

Women's Coach of the Year
Mark Wetmore, Colorado

* - All-Conference teams determined by order of finish at the Pac-12 Championships.