Covenant College Men's Cross Country

Stanford will begin her sixth year overall of coaching at Covenant in 2016-17. She serves as the head cross country coach and head of the track & field programs which will begin official competition in the spring of 2017. Stanford has had a very successful tenure. Her cross country teams have combined for four conference championships, with the men's and women's teams each earning two. Stanford has collected a pair of USA South Coach of the Year honors, one on the men's side in 2014 and the other on the women's side in 2015. As good as Stanford's teams have been on the trails, they've been equally impressive in the classroom. Both men's and women's teams have earned USTFCCCA All-Academic team status for three straight years. Individually, Beth Burgess (2013), Eliot Kaufmann (2014) and Ruthie Cargill (2015) have picked up All-Academic honors from the USTFCCCA during Stanford's tenure. Burgess was also a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District honoree, the only runner in program history to accomplish the feat. Stanford's teams in 2015 both finished second in the USA South. Freshman Micah Sneller was selected as the Rookie of the Year and also claimed the individual title at the USA South Championships. Stanford had four women's runners earn All-USA South honors and five made All-Conference on the men's side. In 2014, Stanford was named USA South Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year as she guided the Scots to their second straight conference title. The men also had the individual conference champion in Graham Massot. The women placed second in the conference meet for a second year in a row. Overall in 2014, 10 runners (five on each side) earned All-USA South honors. Eliot Kaufmann was the Runner and Rookie of the Year on the men's side while Beth Burgess was named Runner of the Year on the women's side. In 2011, Stanford took over a program that was coming off a very successful 2010 campaign during which it "unofficially" saw its men's and women's teams respectively finish first and second in the Great South Athletic Conference Championship meet. In her inaugural 2011 campaign with the teams, Stanford continued the squads' recent successes, guiding the Lady Scots to an "unofficial" first-place finish and the Scots to a second-place prize at the GSAC Championships. Under her direction, the teams combined for two wins, six runner-up performances, and 10 top-five finishes in 2011. Success also found the programs in the 2012 campaign. The women's team once again unofficially won the Great South Athletic Conference championship and two runners earned All-GSAC honors. Stanford also successfully oversaw the revitalization of the cross country trails on Covenant's campus and, because of this, Covenant was able to host meets. Covenant has hosted a season-opening event each of the last three years. Stanford continued the pattern of success in 2013 as Covenant moved into the USA South Athletic Conference. The men's team captured the USA South title, while women's runner Beth Burgess was the individual USA South champion on the women's side. Both teams made an appearance at the NCAA South Regional meet for the first time in school history. She joined the athletic staff as the head mens and womens cross country coach in the spring of 2011. Following the departures of former head coaches Debby Vannoy and Scott Williams, Stanford became the third cross country coach in as many years during her first season with the Scots and Lady Scots. Prior to Covenant, Stanford served as the cross country and distance track coach for Chattanooga's Notre Dame High School, where she worked for one cross country season (2010) and two track seasons (2010-2011), following a four year stint as the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's assistant cross country coach and head recruiter. During her time at UTC, the Lady Mocs were the Southern Conference cross country champions from 2006-2008, and the Mocs were runners-up in 2005, 2007, and 2008. Stanford also served as the women's assistant cross country coach at the University of West Georgia from 2003-2004 while obtaining her Master of Public Administration. Stanford attended Samford University and earned a BA in Political Science in 2003. She competed for the Bulldogs in cross country, indoor and outdoor track from 1998 to 2003. During her collegiate career, she twice earned All-Conference track honors and was the Atlantic Sun Conference 1500 meter champion in 2002. She and her husband, Trey, live on Lookout Mountain, Georgia, with their daughter, Taylor, and son, Noah, and attend North Shore Fellowship in North Chattanooga. Stanford is Level 1 certified under the USA Track and Field coaching education program.

Russell is in his second year as the assistant cross country coach in 2016-17. Russell also currently serves as the track and field head coach at Chattanooga Christian School. At CCS, he has helped grow the program from 23 athletes to over 60, has coached multiple athletes to the Tennessee state meet each year since starting at CCS, and was instrumental in getting the girls track team from unranked to a top 10 ranking in the state. Russell coaches each running discipline with a focus on middle distance and distance runners.  He completed his Masters of Athletic Administration from Ohio University and holds a NFHS track and field certification and Level 1 USA Track and Field coaching certification. Russell and his wife, Meredith, live in downtown Chattanooga, Tenn., with their newborn son, Levi, and attend North Shore Fellowship in North Chattanooga.