Lamar University Men's Cross Country

Clark , who restored one of the regions most-storied programs back to a proud tradition since he took the helm on August 11, 1999.   The numbers tell the story.  He has 14 team titles as the head coach, 98 individual Southland Conference champions, 16 league Athletes of the Year and eight All-Americans.  The Lamar graduate claims eight Southland Conference Newcomers of the Year, 14 Freshmen of the Year, seven Outstanding Track Performers and eight high point scorers.   He has coached 35 current Lamar record holders and 114 athletes who currently rank in the top five in the schools record books.   Clark, a former sprinter and hurdler for LU, first stepped on campus in 1988 and was named as an assistant coach under head coach Barry Collins.  He is the Cardinals sixth head coach in program that started in 1953.   Quite possibly one of his best accomplishments could be the restoration of Lamars distance program. The mens side won its ninth championship in 10 years in 2015, and before that both programs swept the league in 2013 and 2014. The distance Cardinals have had at least one league Athlete of the Year since 2013, and had two in 2014 (Minttu Hukka and Sam Stabler).   LU gained its first distance all-American since 1969 when Francis Kasagule achieved in back-to-back seasons in 2006-07.  Since Samuel Kosgei (2008) and Johnsen (2012) have both done it.  As a team, the men were one spot away from earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships in 2014 and the women two spots away.   He was named as the Southland Conference Cross Country Coach of the Year in 2011.   On Clarks watch, Lamar earned its first ever indoor all-American when Kosgei finished eight at the NCAA Championships in 2009 in the 5,000-meter run.  He has also coached two outdoor all-Americans in Joonas Harjamaki and Tom Wade.  Both won it in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.   During his tenure, Lamar has 40 individual indoor champions, including a run of four years (2006-09) when LU had the mens mile run champion.  It also had the mens 3,000-meter champion for four-straight years (2009-12).   On the womens side, he boasts a four-year run of the distance medley relay (2005-08) and the 4x400 meter relay champions in 2000.   The Lady Cardinals also have five one mile run and 3,000 meter champions.   Big Red has 29 individual league outdoor champions, including the mens 4x400 meter relay champions in 2003. From 2010-13, Lamar won three titles on the mens 1,500 meter run and the women did it from 2006-07. Most recently, he led the womens 4x1 team to LUs first Southland Conference championship in that event, and helped Verity Ockenden earn honorable mention All-American honors in the 5,000 meters.   Even before his time as a head coach, he was an important piece of the puzzle as the assistant coach.  In his five years as an assistant, he worked with 33 league champions and 14 all-conference performers and worked with the two strongest parts of the program, relays and hurdles.   He led the 4x100 meter relay team to the 1999 Southland Conference championships, and guided Mark LeDoux to two straight conference titles in the 400-meter hurdles and ninth place finish at the NCAA Championships.  LeDoux had two appearances at the USA Track and Field Nationals as well.   Clark also helped Yamelis Ortiz, who joined the Lamar Hall of Honor in 2014, to the Olympics on Puerto Ricos 4x400-meter relay team in 2000.  Ortiz was a four-time conference champion in the 400-meter hurdles.   The four-year letterman was an all-conference performer and graduated with a bachelors degree in kinesiology in 1993 and a masters in the same in 1995. He served as a part-time assistant in 1994.   The Anahuac, Texas (Anahuac HS) native, is married to the former Laura Hughes and has two sons, Quade and Hayden.   Trey Clark  Head Coach When fans think of Lamar track and field and cross country programs, the first person that has to come to mind is 17-year head coach Trey Clark , who restored one of the regions most-storied programs back to a proud tradition since he took the helm on August 11, 1999.   The numbers tell the story.  He has 14 team titles as the head coach, 98 individual Southland Conference champions, 16 league Athletes of the Year and eight All-Americans.  The Lamar graduate claims eight Southland Conference Newcomers of the Year, 14 Freshmen of the Year, seven Outstanding Track Performers and eight high point scorers.   He has coached 35 current Lamar record holders and 114 athletes who currently rank in the top five in the schools record books.   Clark, a former sprinter and hurdler for LU, first stepped on campus in 1988 and was named as an assistant coach under head coach Barry Collins.  He is the Cardinals sixth head coach in program that started in 1953.   Quite possibly one of his best accomplishments could be the restoration of Lamars distance program. The mens side won its ninth championship in 10 years in 2015, and before that both programs swept the league in 2013 and 2014. The distance Cardinals have had at least one league Athlete of the Year since 2013, and had two in 2014 (Minttu Hukka and Sam Stabler).   LU gained its first distance all-American since 1969 when Francis Kasagule achieved in back-to-back seasons in 2006-07.  Since Samuel Kosgei (2008) and Johnsen (2012) have both done it.  As a team, the men were one spot away from earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships in 2014 and the women two spots away.   He was named as the Southland Conference Cross Country Coach of the Year in 2011.   On Clarks watch, Lamar earned its first ever indoor all-American when Kosgei finished eight at the NCAA Championships in 2009 in the 5,000-meter run.  He has also coached two outdoor all-Americans in Joonas Harjamaki and Tom Wade.  Both won it in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.   During his tenure, Lamar has 40 individual indoor champions, including a run of four years (2006-09) when LU had the mens mile run champion.  It also had the mens 3,000-meter champion for four-straight years (2009-12).   On the womens side, he boasts a four-year run of the distance medley relay (2005-08) and the 4x400 meter relay champions in 2000.   The Lady Cardinals also have five one mile run and 3,000 meter champions.   Big Red has 29 individual league outdoor champions, including the mens 4x400 meter relay champions in 2003. From 2010-13, Lamar won three titles on the mens 1,500 meter run and the women did it from 2006-07. Most recently, he led the womens 4x1 team to LUs first Southland Conference championship in that event, and helped Verity Ockenden earn honorable mention All-American honors in the 5,000 meters.   Even before his time as a head coach, he was an important piece of the puzzle as the assistant coach.  In his five years as an assistant, he worked with 33 league champions and 14 all-conference performers and worked with the two strongest parts of the program, relays and hurdles.   He led the 4x100 meter relay team to the 1999 Southland Conference championships, and guided Mark LeDoux to two straight conference titles in the 400-meter hurdles and ninth place finish at the NCAA Championships.  LeDoux had two appearances at the USA Track and Field Nationals as well.   Clark also helped Yamelis Ortiz, who joined the Lamar Hall of Honor in 2014, to the Olympics on Puerto Ricos 4x400-meter relay team in 2000.  Ortiz was a four-time conference champion in the 400-meter hurdles.   The four-year letterman was an all-conference performer and graduated with a bachelors degree in kinesiology in 1993 and a masters in the same in 1995. He served as a part-time assistant in 1994.   The Anahuac, Texas (Anahuac HS) native, is married to the former Laura Hughes and has two sons, Quade and Hayden.  

Houchin as Lamar University track and field assistant coach in charge of distance and cross country, announced the program Sept. 7, 2015, just before its 2015 cross country season opened.   His presence was immediately after he helped a very young mens squad grab its ninth crown in 10 years, it was his first with the Cardinals. Under his wing, Iliass Aouani was tabbed as both Southland Conference Freshman and Athlete of the Year. He also assists with the distance program during the track and field season, and he was a part of six distance league championships and Verity Ockenden earning honorable mention All-America honors.     He worked with Ockenden and Aouani on their way to sweeping the 3,000- and 5,000-meter indoor races before both went on to win the 1,500-meter run in the outdoor season.   Houchin, who was head cross country coach and track and field assistant at UAB prior to his time at LU, came to Lamar with 11 All-Americans and 58 league champions coached between track and cross country during his career, and claims more than 150 all-league members.   He arrived at UAB in 2011, and worked with UABs first All-American since 2007, and seven of eight distance All-Americans the Blazers ever had.   He was over a program that broke 26 school records by nine different athletes, and had over 100 marks in the UAB all-time top-10 performance lists. He worked with NCAA South Region Track and Field athlete of the Year Elinor Kirk, who also took the top spot in the 5000-meter run in the Welsh Indoor record book and eighth in the NCAA for the 10,000-meter run.   While at UAB, he coached 12 Conference-USA cross country and track and field champions and 46 All-C-USA athletes. Thirteen times he had a runner advance to the East Preliminary Championships. Proving that academics is also a staple in his work, his cross country team earned the departments highest grade point average at a 3.578 in 2012, and four athletes were named to the Capital One Academic All-District team.   Prior to UAB, he was the cross coach at Nevada-Las Vegas from 2006 to 2010, where he raised the team GPA from a 2.87 to 3.36 and was named as a USTFCCCA All-Academic Team in 2008, 2009 and 2010.  He led his team to the best Mountain West Conference finish the program had seen since 2000 as well as the first All-MWC cross country athletes since then.   He coached UNLVs first mid-distance MWC champion in Charlotte Browning (1500m) as well as the 2007 league track and field freshman of the year. Under his tutelage, 41 marks were added to the UNLV top-10 all-time performers list.   Houchin also served as the cross country coach at Southland Conference rival McNeese State from 2005-2006, where he improved the mens league standing from seventh to third in just one season.  With the Cowboys, he coached two track and field league champions and a handful of All-Southland Conference champions.   Before his stop at McNeese, he coached the Butler men to a fourth place finish at the 2004 National Cross Country Championships, the women finished 31st that season. There, he worked with NCAA cross country All-American Olly Laws in 2004 and national champion Victoria Mitchell in 2005 (steeplechase).   He instructed 26 All-Horizon cross country athletes and 68 all-league track and field athletes. Houchin also coached four league cross country champions and 30 track and field teams in his two seasons with the Bulldogs.   He was a volunteer assistant at Texas A&M where he assisted in coaching distance and mid-distance athletes, including three regional and national track and field qualifiers as well as one Big-12 track and field champion during his one season.   His coaching career started as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Oklahoma State.   He worked there for three seasons and saw three NCAA team national championship qualifiers, three regional team qualifiers, and three NCAA All-Americans. The 2001 team was a first place regional team and the 2002 team finished second.   He ran cross country at the collegiate level at OSU, and had top 15 team finishes every season he ran, including a third place finish in 1995.     Tony Houchin  Assistant Coach - Cross Country/Distance Head coach Trey Clark added 16-year coaching veteran Tony Houchin as Lamar University track and field assistant coach in charge of distance and cross country, announced the program Sept. 7, 2015, just before its 2015 cross country season opened.   His presence was immediately after he helped a very young mens squad grab its ninth crown in 10 years, it was his first with the Cardinals. Under his wing, Iliass Aouani was tabbed as both Southland Conference Freshman and Athlete of the Year. He also assists with the distance program during the track and field season, and he was a part of six distance league championships and Verity Ockenden earning honorable mention All-America honors.     He worked with Ockenden and Aouani on their way to sweeping the 3,000- and 5,000-meter indoor races before both went on to win the 1,500-meter run in the outdoor season.   Houchin, who was head cross country coach and track and field assistant at UAB prior to his time at LU, came to Lamar with 11 All-Americans and 58 league champions coached between track and cross country during his career, and claims more than 150 all-league members.   He arrived at UAB in 2011, and worked with UABs first All-American since 2007, and seven of eight distance All-Americans the Blazers ever had.   He was over a program that broke 26 school records by nine different athletes, and had over 100 marks in the UAB all-time top-10 performance lists. He worked with NCAA South Region Track and Field athlete of the Year Elinor Kirk, who also took the top spot in the 5000-meter run in the Welsh Indoor record book and eighth in the NCAA for the 10,000-meter run.   While at UAB, he coached 12 Conference-USA cross country and track and field champions and 46 All-C-USA athletes. Thirteen times he had a runner advance to the East Preliminary Championships. Proving that academics is also a staple in his work, his cross country team earned the departments highest grade point average at a 3.578 in 2012, and four athletes were named to the Capital One Academic All-District team.   Prior to UAB, he was the cross coach at Nevada-Las Vegas from 2006 to 2010, where he raised the team GPA from a 2.87 to 3.36 and was named as a USTFCCCA All-Academic Team in 2008, 2009 and 2010.  He led his team to the best Mountain West Conference finish the program had seen since 2000 as well as the first All-MWC cross country athletes since then.   He coached UNLVs first mid-distance MWC champion in Charlotte Browning (1500m) as well as the 2007 league track and field freshman of the year. Under his tutelage, 41 marks were added to the UNLV top-10 all-time performers list.   Houchin also served as the cross country coach at Southland Conference rival McNeese State from 2005-2006, where he improved the mens league standing from seventh to third in just one season.  With the Cowboys, he coached two track and field league champions and a handful of All-Southland Conference champions.   Before his stop at McNeese, he coached the Butler men to a fourth place finish at the 2004 National Cross Country Championships, the women finished 31st that season. There, he worked with NCAA cross country All-American Olly Laws in 2004 and national champion Victoria Mitchell in 2005 (steeplechase).   He instructed 26 All-Horizon cross country athletes and 68 all-league track and field athletes. Houchin also coached four league cross country champions and 30 track and field teams in his two seasons with the Bulldogs.   He was a volunteer assistant at Texas A&M where he assisted in coaching distance and mid-distance athletes, including three regional and national track and field qualifiers as well as one Big-12 track and field champion during his one season.   His coaching career started as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Oklahoma State.   He worked there for three seasons and saw three NCAA team national championship qualifiers, three regional team qualifiers, and three NCAA All-Americans. The 2001 team was a first place regional team and the 2002 team finished second.   He ran cross country at the collegiate level at OSU, and had top 15 team finishes every season he ran, including a third place finish in 1995.    

Walker was named to the Lamar University staff on Nov. 11, 2013. Walker, who spent the last two-plus seasons as a graduate assistant for the Lobos, was one of the school's most-decorated athletes. The Killeen, Texas, native holds both the indoor and outdoor school records in the long jump and qualified for the 2008 Olympic Trials. "For the athletes that are here, I think having a former athlete that has been through what they have will be a big help," explained LU head coach Trey Clark. "She's brought in a wealth of experience, especially when you consider the kind of jumps program that New Mexico has. Any time you can bring someone with that level of national exposure, it's going to be huge for our athletes and their development." While on the staff at UNM, Walker had a number of everyday duties in the office, but worked primarily with the jumps program, which produced four All-America honorees in 2012 and three more in 2013. Walker graduated with a bachelor's degree in psychology in 2011, and she's currently pursuing a master's in kinesiology. Alesha Walker  Assistant Coach - Jumps After putting together a stellar career at the University of New Mexico, Alesha Walker was named to the Lamar University staff on Nov. 11, 2013. Walker, who spent the last two-plus seasons as a graduate assistant for the Lobos, was one of the school's most-decorated athletes. The Killeen, Texas, native holds both the indoor and outdoor school records in the long jump and qualified for the 2008 Olympic Trials. "For the athletes that are here, I think having a former athlete that has been through what they have will be a big help," explained LU head coach Trey Clark. "She's brought in a wealth of experience, especially when you consider the kind of jumps program that New Mexico has. Any time you can bring someone with that level of national exposure, it's going to be huge for our athletes and their development." While on the staff at UNM, Walker had a number of everyday duties in the office, but worked primarily with the jumps program, which produced four All-America honorees in 2012 and three more in 2013. Walker graduated with a bachelor's degree in psychology in 2011, and she's currently pursuing a master's in kinesiology.