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Mick Gieskes of the University of California-San Diego has been named the 1999 NCAA Division III West Region Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year. The United States Track Coaches Association and Mondo Surfacing selects and presents the award annually to a top coach in each of the eight NCAA Division III women's cross country regions.

Gieskes, who recently completed his sixth season as an assistant to head coach Ted Van Arsdale at the University of California-San Diego, helped lead the Tritons to a 17th-place finish at the NCAA Division III Championship held Nov. 20 in Winneconne, Wis. The Tritons, who scored 370 points and had one All-American at the event, were making their first appearance at the NCAA Division III Championship as a team entrant since 1993.

The University of California-San Diego qualified as a team entrant for the NCAA Division III Championship by winning the 14-team West Regional held Nov. 13. The Tritons placed five runners in the top 22 individual finishes at the West Regional to win the meet by 17 points over second-place Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (Calif.).

In addition to its title at the NCAA Division III West Regional, the University of California-San Diego also won the 19-team University of California-Riverside Invitational and the 25-team Willamette University Invitational. The Tritons finished second at the 11-team California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship.

Sam Ring of the University of Puget Sound (Wash.) was named the 1999 NCAA Division III West Region Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year.