UCSB's Amanda Moreno
Senior Amanda Moreno, who broke the Big West Cross Country Championship record by more than 12 seconds, and Pete Dolan, who guided the Gauchos to their second straight Big West crown, were named Big West Conference Athlete and Coach of the Year it was announced Wednesday.
Moreno continued the tradition of outstanding Gaucho runners with her award. It was the fourth time in the last five years that a UCSB women’s runner has come away with the Athlete of the Year honor. The Escalon, Calif., native posted a resounding individual title at the league championship in Riverside last weekend. Moreno finished the 6K Ag/Ops Course in a time of 19:57.0, becoming the first runner in Big West history to run the race in under 20 minutes. She also shattered former Gaucho Danielle Domenichelli’s previous league record by more than 12 seconds.
Dolan led UCSB to its second consecutive Big West championship and its fourth in the last five years. It is the sixth time in the last eight years that he has been honored by his peers. It was also Dolan’s eighth honor overall, having won two Coach of the Year awards for guiding his men’s program. The eight are the second only to UC Irvine’s Vince O’Boyle for the most of any coach in league history. Also, it was the sixth time in the past eight years that Dolan coached the individual winner of the 6K women’s title race.
The UCSB men’s and women’s teams return to action on Saturday, Nov. 13 when they compete in the NCAA West Regional Championship in Eugene, Ore.
