UAA's Michael Friess is the coaching equivalent of a basketball player who is good for 20 points a night or hockey player who consistently averages a point per game.
He's talented, productive and reliable.
And he bags coach of the year honors at an astonishing rate.
The Seawolves' longtime running coach – he oversees both the cross country and track and field programs – Wednesday was named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference's men's cross-country Coach of the Year.
That's merely the 36th coach of the year honor Friess has earned in his 26 seasons at UAA.
Friess' conference cross-country honor was the 18th conference reward of his career and came on the heels of being named the West Region men's cross-country Coach of the Year. The Seawolves men won the GNAC title and the West Region title, and finished third at the NCAA Division II championships.
In all, Friess has won 25 coach of the year honors in cross country and another 11 in indoor and outdoor track and field.
He was also a fast, focused competitor in his day. Friess' 1987 record in the Anchorage Mayor's Marathon -- 2 hours, 24 minutes, 44 seconds -- stood for 22 years. He is the Mayor's race director.
Notz in Euro U-23s Sunday
One of Friess' top runners, senior Dominik Notz, will represent his native Germany in the European Under-23 Cross Country Championships in Hyeres, France, on Sunday.
Notz will compete in a race of just more than 8,000 meters (five miles).
Notz finished eighth at the NCAA Division II national cross-country meet earlier this year to earn All-America status and help UAA to a third-place team finish. Prior to that, Notz finished second in the West Region for the second straight year.
Notz also owns strong track credentials. Last summer, he finished seventh in the 10,000 meters and the European U-23 track and field championships in Estonia. And last spring he finished fourth in the 10,000 at the NCAA Division II championships to snag All-America honors.
Reach Doyle Woody at dwoody@alaskadispatch.com, check out his blog at adn.com/hockeyblog and follow him on Twitter at @JaromirBlagr