Esche, Goodman, Jones Earn All-State Accolades
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 Dakota Goodman was named the top freshman among Louisiana college runners |
Dec. 19, 2009
BATON ROUGE - Coming off one of the most successful seasons in the history of Colonel cross country, the accolades continued to pile up for the Colonels on Saturday, as the Louisiana Sports Writers Assocation announced its 2009 All-Louisiana Women's Cross Country Team and Awards.
Colonel coach Matthew Esche was named co-coach of the year, freshmanDakota Goodman was named Louisiana's Freshman of the Year and juniorLauren Jones followed her All-Southland Conference performance with an all-state selection on Saturday.
Esche shares Coach of the Year accolades with Xavier-New Orleans head coach Josephe Moses, who took both his men's and women's squads to NAIA national championship appearances.
Esche, who arrived at Nicholls in January, took over the Colonel distance program and led the women's cross country team to one of the most successful seasons in its history in 2009.
Under Esche's guidance, the Colonels earned their first ever USTFCCCA South Central Region ranking, climbing as high as No. 11 in the region. In one of the most competitive women's cross country conferences in the nation, Esche led Nicholls to its best ever finish at the Southland Conference Cross Country Championships, taking sixth place, improving from 11th place the previous year. With Esche's help, the Colonels took 12th-place at the 2009 South Central Regional Championship Meet. In their first trip to the postseason meet, the Colonels finished just 28 points shy of a top-ten team finish.
Matthew Esche was named cross country coach of the year in his first season on the job.  |
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Goodman caps an auspicious rookie campaign by being named Louisiana's Freshman of the Year. The Reedsburg (Wisc.) High School product competed in six races with five top-20 finishes, four top-ten finishes, two top-five finishes and a victory at the Southern Miss Open on Oct. 16 with a career-best time of 18:37.54.
Goodman helped the Colonels to their best ever Southland Conference Championship finish as her 20th-place time of 22:02 was her best-ever time in a 6K.
Lauren Jones was the first Colonel to earn All-Southland honors in cross country, and was named all-state on Saturday. |
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Jones was named to the all-state squad after being the Colonels' top finisher in three of six meets, leading Nicholls to their first ever South Central Region ranking. Jones finished eighth at the 2009 Southland Conference Cross Country Championships, becoming the first Nicholls student-athlete to earn all-conference cross country honors. Jones was also the Colonels' low stick in their first ever trip to the South Central Regional championships, finishing 37th.
2009 LOUISIANA WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY TEAM
Tinette Burger, McNeese State
Karensa Ellis, Northwestern State
Dakota Goodman, Nicholls State
Amy Guinn, McNeese State
Ebony Harding, Xavier
Lauren Jones, Nicholls State
Dorcus Kapkiai, Southeastern La.
CO-RUNNERS OF THE YEAR
Tinette Burger, McNeese State
Dorcus Kapkiai, Southeastern La.
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Naomi Jeruto, Southeastern La.
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Dakota Goodman, Nicholls State
CO-COACHES OF THE YEAR
Matthew Esche, Nicholls State
Josephe Moses, Xavier