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Cross Country

Cross Country

Eagle

Cross Country Coaches

Mark Thompson

Head Coach

Mark Thompson, one of Oklahoma’s most accomplished track and cross country athletes, was named OC's head cross country coach in December of 2008.

Thompson served as an assistant coach for OC’s cross country and track and field programs for two years before taking his post at head coach. Thompson has played an insrumental role in winning the Sooner Athletic Conference championship cross country meet for the past two years (2008, 2009).

Thompson has worked with and coached multiple OC runners who have earned NAIA All-America honors in cross country, including Jordan Powell, Sylvia Chirchir, and defending NAIA national cross country champion Silas Kisorio.

In addition to his cross country coaching responsibilities, Thompson assists Randy Heath with the men’s and women’s track and field programs, working specifically with the distance runners.

Thompson was a six-time state champion in track and a three-time state champion in cross country at Edmond Memorial High School. He went on to run for two national championship teams at the University of Arkansas.

The 30-year-old Thompson is an active runner. Over the last few years, he set personal bests in distances ranging from the 800 meters through the half-marathon, including victories at the Tulsa Run 15k, and in the 5,000 meters at the Stanford Invitational. He earned runnerup honors at the prestigious Drake Relays Special Invitational Mile. In the summer of 2009, Thompson reached his career goal of a sub four minute mile while racing in Europe. He came away with a 3:59.29 effort during his last race in Belgium.

Thompson is also a physics instructor at Oklahoma Christian. He joined the OC faculty in 2005 after teaching three years at Fayetteville High School in Fayetteville, Ark. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in physics from Arkansas.

Thompson is married to the former Darci Grisso, who serves as OC’s Director of Admissions.

 

Sam Dech Sam Dech

Assistant Coach

Sam Dech, a five-time NAIA All-American in track and cross country at Southern Nazarene University (Okla.), joined the Eagle coaching staff in 2008-09. Dech won the Sooner Athletic Conference cross country championship in 2000 and 2003 and was a six-time NAIA national qualifier in track and cross country. Dech also earned Academic All-America honors four times at SNU. Still an active runner, Dech recently set personal bests during the summer of 2009 in the 800 meter and 1500 meter race distances while racing in Europe. Dech clocked a 1:49.91 in the 800 and a 3:43.19 in the 1500.

Dech has worked in the information technology department at Delta Dental of Oklahoma since 2001. In 2007, he was promoted to the company’s manager of network operations.

A native of Oklahoma City, the 30-year-old Dech was a graduate assistant at SNU in 2004 and 2005. He earned a degree in systems network managing from SNU in 2001 before completing his MBA in 2005, also at SNU. He and his wife, Bethany, have been married for seven years.

 

Katie Clark Katie Clark

Assistant Coach

Katie Clark, a 2003 Oklahoma Christian University graduate in biology, became an assistant coach for the Eagles prior to the 2009-10 school year.

Clark helped the Lady Eagle's 4x800 relay team reach the national meet multiple times and came away with an SAC championship in the 800 meters her senior year at OC. Clark also held the outdoor school record in the 800 meters at 2:19.96 untill it was broken in 2010. Additionally,Clark was a member of the 3200 meter relay team that holds the indoor (9:49.26) school record and held the outdoor (9:39.58) school record prior to 2010.

Clark spent several years coaching high school track and cross-country locally at both Edmond North High School and Edmond Memorial High school before joining the coaching staff at OC. In 2005, she spent a year as the Female Youth Ministry Associate at Memorial Road Church of Christ and then returned to coaching in 2006. While at Edmond Memorial, Clark also taught biology. She has been married to her husband, Michael, since 2005 and they have a daughter, Macy.

 

Wade Miller Wade Miller

Assistant Coach

 

Wade Miller, a 2006 graduate of Oklahoma Christian University in elementary education, joins the cross country coaching staff for 2010-11.

Miller competed as a member of the cross country and track and field teams during his time at Oklahoma Christian from 2002-2006. He was a three-time national qualifier in cross country and track (steeplechase) and was a two-time NAIA Scholar-Athlete. Miller also was a three-time member of the GTE/Verizon/ESPN Academic All District team. Miller holds a personal record best of 9:28.04 in the steeplechase.

Before joining the coaching staff in 2010, Miller spent three years teaching English in the public school system in Mito, Japan. Miller, a native of Lockney, Texas, now resides in Edmond with his wife Janet (Pomeroy).

 

EAGLE EYE BLOG

Bobby Murcer Indoor Training Facility Walkthrough

Go on a walkthrough of the new Bobby Murcer Indoor Training Facility with head baseball coach Chuck White. Join us for OC’s first game of the season on Feb. 5 at 1 p.m. against St. Mary’s.

Kisorio, Mesta break OC 1,000-meter indoor record—Jan. 6, 2012

Hall of Fame Recap Video

Oklahoma Christian inducted its five newest Athletic Hall of Fame members on Friday, including a first for the university – a current student.

Men’s basketball star Charlie Smith, tennis coach Kris Miller, track standout Kathy (Nelson) Belcoff, softball ace Leah Carrell and current track and cross country All-American Silas Kisorio participated in the formal induction ceremony, held in OC’s Gaylord University Center.

Don Meyer, the NCAA leader in career men’s basketball coaching wins with 923, was the keynote speaker. The former coach at OC’s sister institution, Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tenn., praised the five inductees for developing their athletic gifts and encouraged the 250 people in attendance to do the same with the gifts they’d been blessed with by God. Watch a video recapping the night’s events.