Fickerson is WSC Coach of the Year
SBCC CROSS COUNTRYBy Dave Loveton, sports information
Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2011
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Men took 16th in state with late-season surge
Scott Fickerson has been named Western State Conference Coach of the Year for men's
cross country.
Fickerson helped guide the Vaqueros to fifth place in the WSC, 14th in the Southern
Cal Championships and 16th in the State Championships in Fresno. Santa Barbara recorded
faster times in each race.
"We finished strong and kept running faster and faster," said Fickerson, who just
completed his fourth year as coach of the men's and women's teams. "We jumped over
a lot of teams.
"I think it's been at least 10 years since our men qualified for state."
Ben Garland took 20th out of 215 runners in the State Championships in a season-best
20:48, which was 1 minute, 49 seconds faster than his time in the WSC meet 3½ weeks
earlier. Garland went from the No..23 spot in the WSC Championships to the No. 2 WSC
runner at the State Finals.
Matthew Bailey improved from 31st at the WSC meet to the 8th-best WSC runner in the
state with a 1:39 improvement.
"This award is a testament to all the hard work and effort that the men put in all
season leading to their great performances at the So Cal Meet and State Championships,"
said Fickerson.
