Midwestern State University Women's Cross Country

Kelsey Bruce came to Midwestern State in 2021 after a stellar collegiate career and nearly five seasons as assistant coach at her alma mater -- Dallas Baptist.   Bruce raised the bar during her career at DBU earning United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association All-America honors on four occasions including in cross country in 2015, the steeplechase in 2014 and 2015 and the indoor 5,000-meter run in 2015. She also claimed four conference individual titles, while finishing among the top 10 in the United States Track & Field Road Championship on six occasions.   As an assistant coach, she is instrumental in helping head coach and mentor Jacob Phillips guide the Patriots to qualify for three NCAA national cross country meets (two times for the women and once for the men) and claim three conference titles. She helped direct one cross country All American and lead seven others to NCAA qualifying performances.   Bruce has been one of the premiere distance runners in the United States. She is a two-time Olympic Trials qualifier and represented Team USA in the 2019 IAAF World Championships. She also competed at the 2019 World Cross Country Championships and was the top American finisher in the Houston Marathon later in the same year.   Bruce holds a Master of Arts in Teaching and a Master's degree in Kinesiology from DBU where she held a dual role as assistant coach and admissions counselor since 2016. She also instructed Kinesiology classes at Dallas Baptist.

Styles has built the Midwestern State cross country program from the ground floor to national prominence since arriving on campus in 2007. Styles earned Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year honors after piloting the Mustangs to four consecutive league championships in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 while mentoring 20 all-league performers including a pair of individual champions in Sydnee Cole (2010) and Brissia Montalvo (2011). MSU added a fifth conference championship in 2014 taking a tiebreaker with West Texas A&M after the teams ran to a deadheat with matching team totals. The Mustangs have enjoyed great postseason success under Styles qualifying for NCAA Division II Nationals in 2008, 2010 and 2011 while claiming a South Central Region championship on their home course in 2011. Styles, who garnered 2008 United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association South Central Region Coach of the Year honors, directed the Mustangs to their first Lone Star Conference Championship and a second-place showing at the NCAA II South Central Regionals. MSU went on to claim its first All American in Katie Stepp, who led the Mustangs to a 15th-place finish at the 2008 NCAA II Championships in Slippery Rock, Pa. Styles followed the breakout season by leading the Mustangs to their second-straight LSC Championship in 2009 as MSU was led by its first individual champion - Sydnee Cole. Midwestern gobbled up six meet victories on its way to another LSC championship in 2010 before qualifying for the national meet with a runner-up showing at the South Central Regionals in Warrensburg, Mo. Led by a pair of all-region performers in Montalvo and Cole, the Mustangs battled their way to a 17th place showing at the NCAA II Championships in Louisville, Ky. Montalvo surged her way to All-America honors while claiming an individual LSC title while leading Midwestern to league and conference titles on the way to an 11th-place showing at the 2011 NCAA II Championships in Spokane, Wash. The Mustangs boasted four all-region performers in Montalvo, Flores, Janel Campbell and Kim Krezonoski. Midwestern State carried a Top 10 nationally ranking throughout much of the 2012 campaign before finishing as runner-up at the LSC Championships and taking a seventh-place showing at the South Central Regional in Denver. Flores earned all-region accolades while earning an individual invite to the NCAA II national meet once again in Spokane, Wash. With Flores as the frontrunner, the Mustangs enjoyed a stellar regular season carrying national ranking throughout the entire 2013 campaign before finishing third at the Lone Star Conference championships and 10th at the NCAA Division II South Central Regionals. Flores was joined by Campbell as an All-LSC performer as Flores also earned USTFCCCA All-South Central Region honors for a third consecutive season. The program continued to flourish in 2014 as Midwestern claimed its fifth Lone Star Conference title after emerging from a tie with rival West Texas A&M. MSU surged to a No. 14 USTFCCCA national ranking midway through the season on the way to claiming four meet wins. Senior Gabby Ruiz headlined a group of four MSU runners to earn All-Lone Star Conference honors along with Michelle and Kim Krezonoski and Brittany Adams. Ruiz also gained All-South Central Region acclaim. Styles' role expanded with the addition of women's track & field for the 2011-12 academic year. Under his mentorship, Montalvo became the program's first national qualifier advancing to the 2012 NCAA II Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Pueblo, Colo. finishing 8th in 3,000-meter Steeplechase. Flores became the second MSU student-athlete to achieve national qualifying status as she competed in the 1,500-meter run at the 2014 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Allendale, Mich. Styles, who completed his Master's in Kinesiology-Exercise Science this spring, fashioned a highly successful career as a collegiate runner at East Central (Okla.) University and the University of Texas-Arlington.   The former prep standout at Holliday High School was a two-time NCAA Division II cross country All-American at East Central where he was named to the All-Lone Star Conference squad in each of his three seasons before transferring to Texas-Arlington for his senior season. Koby and his two black labs -- Brooks and Dash -- reside in Wichita Falls.