Gatlin Hired as Head Cross Country/Track and Field Coach at SOU
ASHLAND -- After serving as interim coach for the 2011-12 year, Grier Gatlin has been named head coach of the Southern Oregon cross country and track and field teams, SOU Athletic Director Matt Sayre announced Thursday.
Following a previous stint as the Raiders' head cross country coach from 1999-2005, Gatlin returned to SOU at the start of the 2011 cross country season. Taking the interim coaching job right as the season began, Gatlin led the men's cross country team to its fourth consecutive Cascade Collegiate Conference championship. He was named CCC Coach of the Year at the championship meet, hosted by SOU at Ashland's Oak Knoll Golf Course in November. The men's team went on to a third-place finish at the NAIA National Meet in November.
"Stepping into a difficult transition this year, Grier showed his mettle by leading the programs to a very successful year," Sayre said. "He's an alum and a true Raider. We're excited to see Grier maintain that level of performance on the men's side and rapidly build the women's program as he fully takes the reigns."
During the winter, the Gatlin-led track and field teams participated in their first indoor events in program history, with a pair of male athletes advancing to the NAIA Indoor National Championships and earning All-American honors. The outdoor track and field season featured more success, as the Raider men finished second at the conference championship meet and tied a program-record with a sixth-placing showing at last month's NAIA National Outdoor Championships. Nine Raiders earned All-American honors at the championship meet.
"It's an honor to be chosen as the head coach here at Southern Oregon," Gatlin said. "The athletic department and university are very supportive of the cross country and track and field teams, and I believe that because of that support we should continue to be one of the top teams in the Pacific Northwest going forward. I'm excited to sit down with the coaching staff and start preparing for what should be a very good year for the program."
In Gatlin's prior stint as head coach, he twice earned men's CCC and NAIA Region I cross country Coach of the Year honors. His 2004 SOU men's cross country team competed at the NAIA national meet for the first time in 15 years and finished 12th in the nation. The following year, the Raiders returned to the national meet and placed 10th.
While coaching track and field at SOU, Gatlin was named CCC women's Coach of the Year in 2001. He was an assistant coach for five men's and three women's track and field CCC championship teams. He also worked as an assistant coach at Pacific University in Forest Grove from 2006-07 and spent two years as an assistant at Oregon Tech from 2009-10.