NEW ORLEANS, La. --- University of Portland sophomore Trevor Dunbar was honored on Wednesday with the West Region Athlete of the Year award, as selected by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. Dunbar led Portland to a fourth-place finish at the West Regional last weekend to secure the Pilots 12th NCAA Championship meet appearance.
Dunbar, from Kodiak, Alaska, won a photo finish over Arizona’s Stephen Sambu for the NCAA West Regional title in a time of 29:57.89.
He has run in three races so far this season, finishing 2nd at the Charles Bowles Invitational and 4th at the NCAA Pre-National Invitational in addition to his NCAA West Regional performance.
This is the first time that a Pilot runner has received the West Region Athlete of the Year honor. Past recipients of this award include All-American Chris Derrick of Stanford and NCAA National Champion Galen Rupp of Oregon.
“Trevor has had a tremendous year,” said Head Coach Rob Conner. “We are all really excited to see how he does at the NCAA Championships.”
The West Region is comprised of teams from the states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, with the exception of Idaho State and Northern Arizona, which compete in the Mountain Region.
The Pilots return to action at the NCAA Division I Championship on November 22, at the LaVern Gibson Championship course located at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center in Terre Haute, Ind. The men’s race will begin at approximately 12:48 p.m. that day.
USTFCCCA Division I Cross Country Region Athletes of the Year
Male Athlete of the Year
Great Lakes: Eric Finan, Cincinnati
Mid-Atlantic: Ayalew Taye, Georgetown
Midwest: Colby Lowe, Oklahoma State
Mountain: David McNeill, Northern Arizona
Northeast: Leonard Korir, Iona
South: Ciaran O’Lionaird, Florida State
South Central: Festus Kigan, TCU
Southeast: Sam Chelanga, Liberty
West: Trevor Dunbar, Portland