Eastern Washington University Athletics

Coach Jerry Martin

Eastern's first National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) team title came in 1982 when the Eagles won the NCAA Division II cross country championship. Eastern won the title with 84 points, finishing well ahead of runner-up South Dakota State with 123. The team featured a trio of All-Americans -- team captain Steve Pybus, Darryl Genest and Monte Wright -- and was coached by Jerry Martin. Pybus was 14th overall, finishing with a time of 38:39.7 on the 10,000-meter course. Genest was 16th (38:42.4) and Wright placed 25th (39:03.2). The meet took place Nov. 13, 1982, at St. Cloud, Minn., in ankle-deep snow. Greg Meyer, in fact, tripped at the start, lost his shoe and was in last place before passing more than 130 runners (166 finished) to finish 32nd. He would later earn most inspirational team honors. Other finishers included Ed Dotter (33rd), Mark Hoitink (66th) and Matt Morgan (88th), who was involved in a headfirst spill into a snowbank at the start of the race. Eastern featured a large contingent of runners that season, and at one point won three invitational meets on three consecutive days. One squad was victorious in meets in Alaska in Anchorage on Friday and Fairbanks on Sunday, and the other team won a meet in Walla Walla on Saturday.