Alex Gibby Tabbed as CAA Coach of the Year

Led Men’s Cross Country to CAA, IC4A Titles, Eighth-Place Finish at NCAAs

12/08/06 4:55PM

RICHMOND, VA - A vote of the men’s and women’s cross country coaches from around the Colonial Athletic Association once again turned out well for the William and Mary program, as head men’s coach Alex Gibby earned his fourth consecutive Coach of the Year honor. The Tribe also placed 13 athletes on the all-conference teams.

Gibby led his charges to a classically dominant season in his fourth year at the helm. After opening the season with an upset victory over 13th-ranked Georgetown in the Colonial Inter-Regional, the Tribe hit a small bump in the road at the Brooks Pre-National Invitational, finishing 15th in the 34-school “White” race. While many began counting W&M out after that performance, Gibby refocused the team for the CAA Championship, and came away with the Tribe’s seventh-consecutive title despite holding out three top runners. At the Southeast Regional, William and Mary took second place behind NC State for its tenth-consecutive bid to the NCAA Championships, upsetting three ranked teams in the process.

One week later, the College proved its outstanding depth by winning the IC4A Championships for the first time since 1982, placing six on the All-East team (consisting of the top-25 finishers). Two days after that race, the Tribe’s top runners competed at the NCAA Championships and came away with an eighth-place finish. Junior Christo Landry (Falls Church, Va.) finished 34th overall to earn his second All-American certificate. In 23 trips to the NCAA Championships, only the 1973 team performed better, placing fourth.

Also winning major awards from the CAA on the men’s side were James Madison senior C.W. Moran, who took home Runner of the Year honors after winning both the CAA and IC4A individual crowns; and his freshman teammate Scott Tekesky, who was named Rookie of the Year after being the highest-finishing freshman at the CAA Championships in 17th. Women's winners were Georgia State freshman Caitlin Price as Rookie of the Year, CAA Champion Dena Spickard of James Madison as Runner of the Year, and Georgia State coach Jessica Raby as Coach of the Year. Raby shepherded her team to the runner-up spot at the CAA Championships behind William and Mary, knocking JMU from the top two teams for the first time since 1994.

CAA Men's Cross Country Award Winners
Athlete of the Year: C.W. Moran, JMU
Rookie of the Year: Scott Tekesky, JMU
Coach of the Year: Alex Gibby, W&M

CAA Women's Cross Country Award Winners
Athlete of the Year: Dena Spickard, JMU
Rookie of the Year: Caitlin Price, GSU
Coach of the Year: Jessica Raby, GSU