The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association announced its selections for the NCAA Division I Regional Athletes and Coaches of the Year for the 2009 cross country season. The Big 12 had one student-athlete and two coaches across the Conference honored.

MOUNTAIN REGION – Jenny Barringer – Colorado
Barringer, a senior from Oviedo, Fla., is already one of the most decorated female collegiate runners in history and she added to that this season by winning her first NCAA Mountain Region crown. Barringer led the Buffaloes to its first regional team title since 2006 and Barringer won CU’s first individual crown in the region since 2004. Barringer ran with race’s pack for the first 4000 meters before kicking into another gear in the final two kilometers to win the race by over 12 seconds. This season, Barringer also won her first career Big 12 individual cross country crown, leading wire-to-wire to add to her three previous years as runner-up.

MOUNTAIN REGION – Mark Wetmore – Colorado
This season, Wetmore’s Buffaloes won their first NCAA Mountain Region title since 2006 in topping Big 12 Conference foe Texas Tech, 48-53, for the region’s top spot. Wetmore had two freshmen, Allie McLaughlin (3rd) and Laura Tremblay (9th) place in the top 10 in the region to go with Jenny Baringer’s top-spot finish.  The Buffs also took the Big 12 title for the 11th time since the league’s inception in 1996. Colorado is ranked sixth in the country entering the NCAA Championships.

MIDWEST REGION – Dave Smith – Oklahoma State
Smith led the Cowboys to their fifth-straight NCAA Midwest Region title as his squad truly used a team effort to take the crown as OSU secured places nine through 14 in this year’s regional race. Smith, in his fourth season as OSU’s cross country coach, saw his team repeat at Big 12 Champions in 2009 with a dominant victory as four Cowboys took the league’s top four spots on the way to a 24-point total. Oklahoma State is No. 2 in the latest national rankings.