Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania Men's Cross Country

Papa has guided Slippery Rock to 23 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference team titles 16 womens track and field, five mens track and field, one womens cross country and one mens cross country a pair of East Regional cross country titles and 20 PSAC runner-up finishes. His most recent PSAC title came on the women's side when The Rock won the 2015-16 indoor title. It marked the second title in three years for the indoor team and the fifth since 2007. SRU also claimed the 2013-14 indoor title. For his efforts after the 2013-14 championship, he was named the PSAC Women's Coach of the Year, an incredible 19th career PSAC Coach of the Year honor on his resume. Papa has been named the PSAC Coach of the Year nine times in women's outdoor track, three times in women's indoor track and twice in women's cross country. He has earned the men's honor three times for outdoor track and once each for cross country and indoor track. In addition to his 19 PSAC Coach of the Year awards, Papa has been recognized by his peers as the Regional Coach of the Year on 16 occassions, including both 2014 and 2016 for the indoor seasons. Papa hit a grand slam in the 2007-08 academic year as his teams won PSAC team championships in womens indoor, mens indoor, womens outdoor and mens outdoor competitions. Papa-coached student-athletes have claimed nine NCAA Division II national championships, five national runner-up honors and an eye-popping total of 97 All-American awards. Papas track and field teams have also featured 238 PSAC individual champions. Papa has added to his growing list of All-Americans in recent years with the highlights being Whitney Hendershots win in the high jump at the 2011 outdoor national championships and Cameron Daugherty's win in the pole vault at the 2012 national meet. Kevin Jewel nearly added to the list of national champions with a runner-up finish in the 800-meter run at the 2013 outdoor meet, where he shattered the SRU record with a sub 1:49.00 performance. Hans Lubich earned All-America honors in the heptathlon at the 2013-14 indoor meet and Lexi Arnold (javelin) and Julia Cain (pole vault) both earned All-America honors at the 2013 outdoor meet. Allison Smith and Arnold also earned All-America honors during the 2010-11 outdoor season in the 400-meter hurdles and the javelin respectively. Cameron Daugherty represented the mens program by earning All-America accolades in the pole vault during both the indoor and outdoor seasons. 2010 featured All-America finishes from Jen Hansen during both the indoor and outdoor seasons, Amanda Seigworth during the outdoor season and Jen Harpp in cross country. Harpp added to that list during the 2009 fall cross country season, when she earned the highest finish by a Slippery Rock runner at the national championships, placing 11th. Hendershot and Harpp both earned All-America finishes at the 2009 indoor national championships. Jeff Weiss followed that with his seventh total All-America honor during the outdoor season. The 4x400-meter relay team of Smith, Seigworth, Tiffany Tedesco and Lacey Cochran joined Weiss as outdoor All-America honorees. All six programs that Papa oversees have had great success over the last decade. With Papa at the helm, The Rocks womens track and field team has won six of the last 10 PSAC outdoor titles including four consecutive league titles from 2006-09. The womens indoor track and field team has won PSAC titles in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2014. The 2009 squad placed 13th at the National Championships. The SRU mens indoor track and field team won the 2008 PSAC Championships and went on to place 18th at the National Championships. The Rock men also claimed the 2008 outdoor track PSAC title. In addition to two PSAC cross country championships, Rock cross country teams have won two NCAA D-II East Regional titles and on two occasions placed among the top 10 teams at the national meet. During the 2007 cross country season, Papa narrowly missed holding a fifth championship trophy as the mens team finished second in both the PSAC and regional meets. Papas men rode the momentum of their conference and regional runner-up finishes to a ninth-place finish in the national championships. The womens cross country team has placed no lower than third at the PSAC Championship Meet since 2008. The Rock women also came in 11th place at the NCAA Championships in 2008. Papas coaching success is merely a continuation of his career as a student-athlete. As a Rock sophomore in 1976, the Pittsburgh Gateway High School graduate earned All-America honors by finishing sixth in the decathlon event at the NCAA Division III national meet. Two years later, he finished second in the decathlon and helped lead The Rock, under the guidance of Bill Lennox, to the Division III national championship. After graduating from SRU with a degree in elementary education in 1979, Papa accepted a teaching position in Leesburg, Va., where he guided Loudoun County High School to second- and third-place state finishes and produced several individual state champions. Papa returned to The Rock in the summer of 1984 to serve as graduate assistant to Lennox and earned his masters degree in athletic administration. The following year, Papa served as assistant track and field coach and then was named head mens track and field coach in the spring of 1986. In the fall of 1987, Papa was named head coach of the mens and womens cross country and track and field programs. Seven years later (1994), Papa was inducted into the SRU Athletic Hall of Fame based upon his accomplishments as a student-athlete; Hall of Fame rules do not allow active Rock coaches to be inducted for their coaching success. Papas approach to coaching is not focused on winning alone. "Our goal is always to have everybody on the team reach his or her potential," he says. "Not everyone can be a PSAC champion, but everyone can set a goal and be excited about hitting it. Thats what were all about no ones left out and its been working so far." Hand-in-hand with his teams athletic achievements has been a stellar record in the classroom. Slippery Rock is annually among the best-represented Division II programs in the nation in terms of All-Academic selections and Academic All-America honorees. All of Papa's teams annually carry well above a 3.0 collective GPA. Adding to the list of outstanding academic accomplishments in recent years were first team Academic All-America selections for Kevin Jewel and Kara Styles in 2013 and three PSAC Champion Scholar honors for Styles, who has maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA in the doctor of physical therapy program. The Rock is also proud to have been selected as the site for numerous championship meets. SRU, under the leadership of Papa and his staff, hosted the D-II national cross country meet in 199, 2001 and 2008. The Rock has hosted the 2000, 2005 and 2012 PSAC cross country championships, 2004 and 2011 PSAC outdoor track and field championships, the 2006 East Regional cross country meet and the 2011 Atlantic Regional cross country meet. Slippery Rock will add to that impressive list again in 2014 when it hosts the NCAA Atlantic Regional meet again at Cooper's Lake Campground. The Rock also serves as the annual host site for the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) championship meet. Over the course of the fall season more than 6,000 runners compete on The Rocks home course.     PSAC Championships Under John Papa

Jordan is the primary coach for The Rocks pole vaulters, javelin throwers and multi-event athletes in addition to guiding SRUs triple, high and long jumpers. During his time at Slippery Rock, Jordan has helped coach SRU to 10 PSAC team Championships and 10 PSAC second-place finishes. Over his tenure, Jordan has coached three national champions, 21 All-America performers, 44 NCAA Division II national qualifiers, 32 PSAC individual champions 199 All- Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference performers.   Last season, Jordan coached Dave Reinhardt to one of the best seasons by a field athlete in Slippery Rock history. Reinhardt won a national championship in the javelin with a personal-best throw of 68.83 meters while also being named the PSAC Men's Field Athlete of the Year and the Most Outstanding Field Event Athlete at the PSAC Outdoor Championships.   In addition to Reinhardts success in 2013-14, Jordan also coached three PSAC Outdoor champions in Julie Cain (pole vault), Sam Taylor (javelin) and Tyler Kachelries (javelin) as well as a trio of PSAC Indoor champions in Hans Lubich (heptathlon), Jordan Pacheco (pole vault) and Kaitlyn Clark (pole vault). Cain and Lubich both went on to earn All-America honors in their respective events.   2012-13 was another standout year for Jordans athletes as Cameron Daugherty (indoor pole vault), Ashley West (indoor high jump), Julia Cain (outdoor pole vault) and Lexi Arnold (javelin) all earned All-America accolades for Slippery Rock. Daugherty also won the pole vault championship at both the PSAC Indoor Championships and the PSAC Outdoor Championships. Other athletes to win PSAC titles under Jordans watch were Arnold (javelin), Cain (indoor pole vault) and Derick Fielder (indoor heptathlon).   Jordan coached his second national champion in 2011-12 when Daugherty claimed the outdoor pole vault title. Other top athletes for Jordan that season included Kim Stitt, who won the pentathlon at the PSAC Championships, and conference indoor pole vault champion Angela Schroeder. The 2010-11 season was another stellar year for Jordans athletes. The crowning achievement for the season was high jumper Whitney Hendershot winning the national championship in the high jump during the outdoor season with a clearance of 1.74 meters. After winning her first PSAC title Lexi Arnold (javelin) earned All-America honors with a fifth place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships while fellow javelin thrower Kim Goth also qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, placing 11th. During the indoor season Jordan helped Kelly Bruder win the pentathlon championship at the PSAC indoor championships. On the mens side, Brady Wert won the conference title in the heptathlon during the indoor season before winning the PSAC crown in the decathlon and also qualifying for the NCAA Championships. As a student-athlete at SRU, Jordan finished 13th in the decathlon at the 2005 national championship meet. He also won the 2005 PSAC outdoor decathlon championship and was a multiple All-PSAC performer in the indoor pentathlon, outdoor decathlon, and high jump events during his collegiate career. Jordan is also a former school record holder in the indoor pentathlon and a two time All-Academic selection in the decathlon.   Jordan holds a USATF Level 1 Certification and has also served as the Director of US Soccers Referees Fitness Program from June 2009-14 as well as the Director of MLS Professional Referees Fitness Program from 2009-12 in addition to his coaching duties. Jordan earned a Bachelor of Science degree in education from SRU in 2005 and his masters degree in health and physical education from Slippery Rock in 2008.