SAN BRUNO, Calif. – WCC Individual Champion Evans Kurui of Washington State and Matt Strangio of Portland were named the 2024 West Coast Conference Men's Cross Country Co-Runners of the Year, while Portland's Rob Conner won WCC Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year.
 
The Conference recognizes the WCC Men’s Cross Country Runner of the Year and WCC Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year in a vote of each of the Conference’s head coaches at the conclusion of the NCAA cross country season for all programs.
 
Conner claimed WCC Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year for the first time since 2014, and he has now garnered the recognition for the eighth time since 2002. Under Conner's guidance, Portland won the WCC Championship last month. While this marked the Pilots' first team title since 2014, it was also the 35th Conference championship in program history. The Pilots featured three runners in the top five finishers. 

At the WCC Championships, Kurui won the WCC Individual Championship by 20 seconds and later won at the NCAA West Regional Champion by 15 seconds. He earned All-America honors at the NCAA Championships. During the season, the WCC Freshman of the Year ran the 10th-fastest 10K time in the nation and the 13th-fastest 8K in the nation. His 10K time also topped all freshmen in the nation. 

Strangio repeated as WCC Men's Runner of the Year after finishing as top WCC runner at the NCAA Championships. He finished second at the WCC Championships, clocking in at 23:12.0 to help Portland win the team title. He earned All-America honors at the NCAA Championships with his 22nd-place finish, crossing the finish line at 29:16.5. Strangio shot up 18 spots in the final thousand meters in the national meet. 

Both Kurui and Strangio were named to the All-WCC First Team back at the WCC Championships. Kurui won Credit Union 1 WCC Cross Country Runner of the Week three times, while Strangio won once. 

2024 WCC MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY AWARDS

WCC COACH OF THE YEAR
Rob Conner	Portland

 

WCC CO-RUNNERS OF THE YEAR
Evans Kurui	Washington State	Fr.
Matt Strangio	Portland	Sr.