CROSS COUNTRY COACHES
OFFICE: 123 Tuttle South Athletic Complex
PHONE: (585) 395-5353
E-MAIL: mkrueger@brockport.edu
Head Coach: Mark Krueger
Mark Krueger took over the reins of the SUNY Brockport Cross Country program, along with Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field, at the start of the 2002-03 season. Since then, the teams have transformed into a consistent force in the Atlantic Region while emerging into the national spotlight.
In the past two seasons in cross country and track & field, Krueger has led 24 athletes to the NCAA Division III Championships with nine earning All-America awards. The 2006-07 season was arguably the best all-around season in school history. The teams earned the highest marks for track & field ever, with six Golden Eagles competing in the Indoor Championships and seven qualifying for Outdoor Nationals.
The Cross Country squads have had impressive finishes in conference and regional competition with the men’s team taking second at the 2002 SUNYAC Championship and again at the New York State Meet in 2004. The 2004 team also placed fifth in the NCAA Atlantic Regional Race.
More recently, the men finished fourth at the 2007 SUNYAC Championships and 11 th at both states and regionals that year.
The women took third at the SUNYAC Championships in both 2003 and 2004 and finished fifth in the New York State Meet both years. The 2003 team went on to place sixth at the NCAA Atlantic Regional Championships.
The 2007 women’s team earned a fourth-place finish at the SUNYAC Championships, took fifth at the New York State Championships, and finished 10 th at the NCAA Regionals.
Under Krueger, six runners have earned a spot on the SUNYAC Cross Country Hall of Fame. To qualify, runners must finish in the top five at the SUNYAC Championships once, the top 10 twice, or the top 15 three times. The most recent entry in the conference Hall of Fame was freshman Julia Ruggiero who finished fifth in her first SUNYAC Championship race in 2007. Krueger led three runners to the NCAA Championships in 2006 with SUNYAC Hall of Famers Teri Wilson and Ryan Kolb, along with Kristen Paulson, each making the trip.
Many of the best times in the history of Golden Eagle cross country have been run under Krueger’s tutelage, with six of the top 10 men’s times (8K races) and seven of the top 10 for women (5K) since 2003. Every one of the top 10 times in the women’s 6K race has been posted by Krueger-led runners.
rueger, a 1999 SUNY Brockport graduate with a degree in Exercise Physiology and Teacher Certification, has been named the SUNYAC Coach of the Year with awards for cross country in 2002 and for outdoor track & field in 2005. Krueger earned the NYSCTC men’s outdoor track & field Coach of the Year award in 2007 and was also named the Atlantic Region Coach of the Year for outdoor track & field in 2005.
Assistant Coaches
Vanessa Martell
Martell is in her third year as assistant cross country and track & field coach. The 2004 graduate of SUNY Brockport with a degree in Physical Education and a minor in Recreation and Leisure competed for cross country and track teams at Brockport for three seasons after transferring from Finger Lakes Community College after her freshman year.
She is the SUNY Brockport school record holder for the 5,000 and 10,000 meter races for track and was tabbed the Bob Boozer Award recipient as well as being named to the All-SUNYAC team. She won scholar athlete accolades on several occasions. At Finger Lakes CC, she was a Mid-State Conference Champion in 1999 and earned Academic All-American status. She was additionally named the scholar athlete of the Year at the school.
Tim Avery
Avery is in his second year as assistant cross country coach. The 2004 graduate of Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan was an English for Secondary Education major and Physical Education minor.
He was a four-year star for the Knights as he helped the team to a National Championship as a senior in 2003. The 2000 team in Avery’s freshman season also won the National Title.
He was named All-American in 2003 and earned Academic All-American Awards in 2003 for cross country and track. He was Calvin’s Top Scholar Athlete Award winner in both 2003 and 2004. The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) honored Avery for scholar athlete success in 2003 and again in 2004.
Prior to Brockport, he was a mentor/assistant at Mary Washington College in Virginia and a Track & Field coach at Locust Grove Middle School.
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