NAU's Smith and SUU's Houle Named #BigSkyXC Coaches of the Year
OGDEN, Utah – Less than a week after their teams won the Big Sky Championship, Northern Arizona’s Mike Smith was recognized as the Big Sky Men’s Coach of the Year and Southern Utah’s Eric Houle was recognized by his peers as the Big Sky Women’s Coach of the Year.
Northern Arizona defended its Big Sky Championship for the second year in a row scoring 21 points at the championship including the top four finishes. Smith is leading a program that has been ranked No. 1 in the nation all season. The Lumberjacks have had three different student-athletes lead the team this season. Peter Lomong won the George Kyte Classic to open the season, Tyler Day led the squad in Madison, Wis. for the Nuttycombe Invitational as well as Pre-Nationals and Matt Baxter claimed the individual title at the Big Sky Championship.
This is Mike Smith’s second Men’s Coach of the Year award in his second year at the helm. Smith was also the recipient of women’s Coach of the Year in 2017.
Picked third in the Big Sky Women’s Preseason Poll, Southern Utah’s Eric Houle led the Thunderbirds to their first Big Sky title in women’s cross country. At the Big Sky Championship, Southern Utah took four of the top six spots to finish with 28 points as a team. Southern Utah was led by Angie Nickerson who won two Athlete of the Week honors on the season as well as the individual title at the Big Sky Championship. In the latest USTFCCCA National Poll, the Thunderbirds were ranked No. 22.
This is the first Big Sky Women’s Coach of the Year cross country award for Houle. Houle was named the men’s cross country coach of the year in the conference back in 2015 when Southern Utah won the men’s Big Sky Championship.
Southern Utah and Northern Arizona have the week off before running in the NCAA Mountain Regional in Provo, Utah on Nov. 9. Smith and Houle will look to have their teams qualify for the NCAA Championships in Madison, Wis. on Nov. 17.