Colorado College Men's Track

Castaneda has served as head coach of the men's cross country team at CC since 1980, when he also started as a volunteer assistant with the track and field program.  He took over as head coach for women's cross country in 1993 and for track and field in 1994. He has coached athletes to a total of 34 outdoor track mens and womens school records during his tenure.  In indoor track, his women athletes reset all 26 records and the men broke 15 before winter competition was discontinued in 2002. During his coaching tenure, 22 cross country and track athletes have earned All-America honors including 1998 NCAA heptathlete champion Heather OBrien, five-time recipient Julian Boggs (three times in cross country and twice in track and field) and  standout Jackson Brainerd 12, who led the Tigers to their third consecutive SCAC cross country team championship in 2011. Castanedas Tigers also get it done academically, with regular academic accolades each year as individuals and teams, including both cross country teams earning academic All-America status for fall 2011. The program's success should be no surprise when you look back at Castaneda's success as a competitor. Castaneda is well-versed not only with the style and technique required in both cross country and track, but with training and theory of conditioning as well. His career as a distance runner started during his prep years at Colorado Springs Palmer High School. From there he went on to the University of Colorado in Boulder, where he earned All-America honors four times in track and once in cross country. His best times include a 3:58.5 mile, an 8:29 two-mile, a 28:30 in the 10 kilometers and a 2-hour, 15-minute marathon.  He also competed in two U.S. Olympic Trials (5,000 and 10,000 in 1976, marathon in 1980).

Nichols finished 14th at the NCAA championships with an 8K clocking of 24:57 to cap his collegiate career with the Tigers. He earlier won the SCAC individual crown in '07, leading a 1-2-3 finish for CC with Kiran Moorty and Julian Boggs at the league meet, before claiming third place at the West Regional with a personal-best effort of 24:54 that earned him All-Region accoldades. He shared the team's "Most Valuable Runner" award with classmate Boggs that fall after they became the first Tiger duo ever to earn All-America status in the same season. Nichols claimed a top-three spot in four of eight races he ran during that 2007 campaign.   

Alex Nichols has led the Colorado College cross country programs to new heights since taking over as head coach in July of 2021. Nichols, who also serves as an assistant coach for the school's track and field teams, took over as interim cross country coach following Ted Castaneda's retirement on Dec. 15, 2020 after serving as Castaneda's assistant coach since 2012. A 2008 graduate of CC, Nichols has guided both teams to the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship each of his four seasons and was named the league's Coach of the Year each season for each gender. The women's team has advanced to the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships each of his four seasons. Nichols led the Tigers to a program-best sixth-place finish in 2024 and has coached three All-Americans, Isabel Olson (10th) and Sydney Rankin (24th) in 2024 and Elliot Singer (29th) in 2021. On the men's side, the Tigers have dominated the SCAC Championship Meet, with CC claiming each individual title during Nichols' tenure. Will Shuflit won the title last season and earned All-America honors with a 30th-place finish at the NCAA Championships. James Settles captured the previous two titles and was named an All-American with a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Division III Championships in 2023. Josh Fry won his second consecutive SCAC individual title and Runner of the Year honor in Nichols' first year as permanent head coach in the fall of 2021. As the interim coach in the spring of 2021, Nichols led the men's cross country team to its second consecutive Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship and was named the league's Coach of the Year. The women's team finished second at the league meet, just a few points behind team champion Trinity University.  As the distance event coach in track and field, Nichols has coached several all-conference performances and individual conference champions, including two-time All-American Kendall Accetta in the 3K steeplechase. Nichols also guided Katie Sandfort to a third-place finish in the 10K, the second-best finish in school history, at the 2017 Division III Championships.   Nichols earned All-America honors in cross country as a senior at Colorado College by finishing 14th at the 2007 NCAA cross country championships to cap his collegiate career with the Tigers. He earlier won the SCAC individual crown in '07, leading a 1-2-3 finish for CC with Kiran Moorty and Julian Boggs at the league meet. He was a three-time All-Region award winner in cross country, and set the still-standing Colorado College school record in the 3000-meter steeplechase at 9:14.35.   In addition to coaching, Nichols has been running trail and ultramarathon races professionally since 2010. He was ranked among the top ten ultra-marathoner runners in 2015, 2016, and 2017. In 2015, he was the USATF Ultra Marathon Runner of the Year and has twice represented Team USA in the World Championships (2013 & 2015). Other highlights include two wins at the Pikes Peak Marathon, a course record at the Mont Blanc 80k, and a 2017 Western States 100 Mile runner-up finish.   Nichols earned a master's degree in Sport Coaching from the University of Denver’s graduate school of professional psychology in 2020. He also holds a USATF Level 2 coaching certification.