November 19, 1996Release # S093
Contact: Adam Levin
Sports Information Director
Phone #: (207) 786-6411


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Bates Track/Xcountry Head Named N. E. Coach Of Year

LEWISTON, Maine -- Al Fereshetian, head men's track and cross country coach at Bates College, was honored Nov. 16 as the NCAA Division III New England Regional Coach of the Year.

This prestigious honor, voted on by all other New England coaches, recognizes the outstanding season posted by the Bates team. Despite not being ranked in New England at the start of the season, the Bobcats rose as high as third in the regional polls and 20th in the national polls late in the season, ending the season 25th in the country.

Led by a trio of All-New England performers, junior Justin Freeman, of Enfield, N.H., and first-year runners Matt Twiest of Albuquerque, N.M., and Mike Danahy of South Windsor, Conn., the Bobcats finished in a tie for third in the NCAA New England regional qualifier, behind only Williams and Tufts, who finished fifth and seventh respectively at nationals.

"I'm very honored by this award, but it really is based on the efforts of the team," Fereshetian said. "They are the ones who work so hard week in and week out. The improvement they have shown since the beginning of the season has been immense." Fereshetian is in his second season as head coach of cross country and track at Bates.

A native of of Concord, N.H., Fereshetian is a 1983 graduate of the University of New Hampshire, where he earned a bachelor's degree in physical education. He served as an assistant coach at New Hampshire and the University of Kansas. Prior to coming to Bates, he was head coach at Appalachian State University in North Carolina from 1989 to 1995. While there, he won three Southern Conference Coach of the Year awards.

This marks the second year in a row a Bates cross country coach has been named New England Coach of the Year. Last season, women's coach Carolyn Court earned the honor. "We are very fortunate to have such an outstanding coaching staff," director of athletics Suzanne Coffey said. "I am pleased that the rest of New England recognizes that as well."

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