New women's cross country and track coach named
Aug. 7, 2001
KALAMAZOO -- Western Michigan University has named Kelly Lycan head coach of the women's cross country and track programs. He takes over for Diane Russo, who resigned June 5 after 11 seasons as the head coach. Lycan becomes the fifth coach since the inception of the program in 1978.
"I'm very excited to be coming to Western Michigan," said Lycan. "There is a great history here."
Lycan spent the past seven seasons as the top women's cross country and track assistant coach at Ball State University. Last season the Cardinals won both the indoor and outdoor track and field Mid-American Conference championships, and finished second in cross country. In his first season as an assistant, Lycan helped the Cardinals to a fourth place finish in cross country, the highest finish in program history to that point. The Cardinals finished the 1997 cross country season ranked No. 25 in the nation, placing no worse than third in any meet that year.
Lycan coached LaTasha Jenkins to an NCAA championship in the
200-meter dash in 1999. The
Cardinals won a total of seven MAC track and field championships
while Lycan was an assistant coach. (1996, 1998, 2001 Indoor;
1996, 1998, 2000, 2001 outdoor).
Lycan has also served as an assistant for the men's cross country/track and field teams at Southwest Missouri State in 1993-94. Before that, he was an assistant at Eastern Michigan for the 1992-93 season and for Arkansas from 1983-90. The Lady Razorbacks earned top-20 national rankings during his tenure as assistant.
He received a bachelor of fine arts in creative writing from Bowling Green in 1981, lettering in both football and track and field while at Bowling Green. Lycan then went on to get his masters degree in creative writing at Arkansas in 1990.
"We are extremely excited to add someone with Kelly's qualifications," said Kathy Beauregard, director of intercollegiate athletics. "He has coached an NCAA individual champion, and he has been involved with successful programs."
Media contact: Travis McCurdy, 616 387-3221, travis.mccurdy@wmich.edu