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Date: November 15, 2004
Contact: Bill Sodoma

 

Aitken named Coach of the Year, Johnson on second team

WATERVILLE, Maine --- Colby College head coach Deb Aitken was named the New England Small College Athletic Conference Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year by a vote of the league coaches.

Aitken, a Skowhegan, Maine, native has helped the Mules to a national ranking of 16th in last week's poll and to fine finishes all year in the competitive New England Region. Colby should move up in Tuesday's rankings after defeating fifth-ranked Amherst College in the NCAA Division III New England Regional Championships this past Saturday.

Colby's third-place finish at the New England Regional meet put the Mules into this Saturday's race at the NCAA Division III Championships at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Aitken leads a team to the NCAA meet for the fifth time in her 20 years at Colby. The Mules' best finish was 10th place in 1994.

Besides the four teams in national competition, Aitken also has coached 10 individual runners to national competition and those athletes have earned 11 All-America honors.

The Mules took fourth place in the NESCAC Championships at Colby on October 30, but the three teams in front were all ranked nationally in the top five. Aitken has won NESCAC titles in 1986 and 1994.

Karina Johnson (Tolland, Conn.) earned NESCAC second-team honors for finishing in 11th place in the league meet with a time of 18 minutes, 50.54 seconds over five kilometers. Johnson, a senior, also had Colby's best time at 22:35.8 over six kilometers in taking 14th at the New England Regional meet.

Johnson and her six Colby teammates will all be making their first appearances at the NCAA meet this Saturday.