University of California - Davis Men's Cross Country

Elizondo assumed the reins of the distance programs in the fall of 2014 after former head coach Drew Wartenburg stepped down to pursue other opportunities, and promptly led UC Davis to success in his first season, named the Big West Conference Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year after leading the Aggie women to their first conference title since 2011. Other highlights of his inaugural campaign included guiding the men's team to a fourth-place finish at the WCC Preview and a 13th-place finish at the NCAA Pre-Nationals in Indiana, while the women finished second behind nationally ranked Stanford at the Cardinal's own Stanford Invitational during the regular season. In 2015, Elizondo guided both the men's and women's teams to third-place finishes at the Big West championships -- the highest finish for the men since 2013 and the fifth consecutive top-three finish on the women's side. The Aggies also finished well at the NCAA West Regionals, ending the meet 13th on the men's side and 15th in the women's race -- marking the third time that the men, and the fifth time that the women, have finished among the top 15 in regional competition during his time in Davis. Overall during his tenure on campus, Elizondo has helped coach 20 All-Big West runners (six men, 14 women) and six all-region honorees in cross country. Elizondo began his coaching career with the Brentwood School in Los Angeles where he served as head boys' and girls' track and field coach and assistant boys' and girls' cross country coach. With Elizondo on staff, the boys' cross country team qualified for state championships on six different occasions and achieved five top-five finishes, placing third as a team in 2001. The girls' program advanced to the state meet twice as a team and sent an individual on two other occasions. In 2003, a Brentwood School runner won the individual title. On the track, Elizondo's athletes set 23 school records since his appointment as head coach in 2003. Elizondo also played an active role in coaching education throughout Southern California. He joined the LA84 Foundation in 2007, an organization endowed through surplus funds from the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games that works to serve youth through sport and increase knowledge of sport and its impact on people's lives. As Associate of Education Services, Elizondo assisted in organizing clinics and workshops for over 1,600 high school cross country and track and field coaches in the Southern California area. Elizondo has also worked closely with Runner's Workshop, a summer cross country camp that has served over 13,000 runners since its inception in 1985, since 1994. In his role as Clinic Presenter, he created a daily lecture series as well as five-day training and two-a-day workouts for the camp participants. A 1998 graduate of UCLA with a bachelor's degree in history, Elizondo was a standout member of both the cross country and track and field teams. He was the No. 2 distance runner behind Olympic silver medalist Meb Keflezighi and helped lead the Bruins to two third-place finishes at the Pac-10 Cross Country Championships. In 1995, he was selected to te All-District IX first team and was chosen as Most Outstanding Freshman in 1994. On the track, Elizondo was a member of three Pac-10 Championship teams and concluded his four-year career with the Bruins with a third-place finish in the steeplechase, setting a lifetime best time of 8:56.7. Cross Country Home   Email this article   Printer-friendly format Last College: UCLA '98 Position: Assistant Coach

Kearney returns "home" after spending a season as the women's cross country and men's and women's mid-distance and steeplechase coach at Hillsdale College in Michigan. In her only season, Kearney helped the Chargers' cross country squad reach the NCAA Division II championships, posting a 15th place team finish, while helping one of her athletes, Emily Oren, earn indoor and outdoor All-America honors in both the mile and 3K steeplechase. She coaches Oren and teammate Amy Kerst to a total of four Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference indoor distance titles as well as six conference all-academic awards. Prior to her work with the Chargers, Kearney followed up a stellar collegiate career with the Aggies by spending the 2012-13 season as a volunteer assistant coach at UC Davis working with both the cross country and track and field squads, including helping the Aggies to a Big West track and field title. During her first coaching stint with the Aggies, Kearney helped tutor a pair of Division I All-Americans in Lauren Wallace (800m) and Katie Fry (steeplechase) as well as four Big West champions on the track: Wallace (800m, 4x400m), Fry (steeplechase), Sarah Sumpter (10K), and Raquel Lambdin (1500m). As a student-athlete, Kearney served as team captain for the Aggies' first Big West titles in cross country and track and field while also excelling in the classroom. She finished her career ranked third on the UC Davis all-time steeplechase list with a time of 10:37.62 and finished 35th in the event at the NCAA West Region preliminary meet. Off the track, Kearney was a member of four USTFCCCA All-Academic teams and was a five-time Big West All-Academic Team honoree. She also earned a spot on the Dean's List twice during her academic career. A 2012 graduate of UC Davis, Kearney earned a bachelors degree in exercise biology with a minor in Spanish. She also earned her USTFCCCA Track and Field Technical Certification Level 1 in 2013.

Sheffield, who led numerous San Diego State athletes to All-America honors during his 23-year tenure with the Aztecs program, enters his second season with the Aggies but his first as the Director of Cross Country and Track and Field after serving as an assistant track coach in 2014. His first year was a memorable one for Sheffield who sprinters and hurdlers helped the women's team capture their third straight Big West Conference championship and then men earn third. Standout Ashley Marshall successfully defended her 100- and 200-meter titles, was named the Big West Women's Track Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive season, and was subsequently presented with the Heitman Award as the top UC Davis female athlete for 2013-14. She later advanced to the NCAA Finals for the second straight year. Cekarri Nixon set a school record in the 400 (53.26) last season and six career-best marks were set by his athletes on the women's team. His men's athletes also achieved success with eight career-best times established, including Kaio Sena (10.42), Sava Boyadjiev (10.45) and Marcus Johnson (10.48) taking the second through fourth spots on the program's all-time 100 list, a ledger that had just one new member since 2007. Besides Marshall's two wins, Nixon (400), Kellie Grigg (400H), Johnson (100) and Karl Moran (400H) also won Big West titles last May. The men's 4x100, which along with the women's relay set school records in 2014, won the Aggies' first-ever Big West championship in the event as well. Sheffield began as an assistant coach at SDSU in 1984 and then was elevated to head coach in 1991. He retired from the position in 2008 after achieving tremendous success which included 78 Aztecs qualifying for the NCAA Championships, 19 earning All-America honors and three capturing individual national championships. Additionally, nearly 30 of his athletes competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials and four advanced to the Olympics. "We are very pleased to be able to bring someone with the breadth and depth of Rahn's background to complete our staff for the 2013-14 year," said former Aggie head coach Drew Wartenburg upon Sheffield's hiring. "Rahn's coaching accomplishments on the regional, national and international levels will provide a valuable asset to the program. Our challenge from this point forward is to bolster the strong components of our sprint and hurdle group while also working to raise the level in areas where improvement can make an immediate impact on the overall strength of the team." Sheffield led his team to several outstanding finishes, including the 2003 Mountain West Conference outdoor championship when the Aztecs ended BYU's 21-year championship reign. His final two seasons featured top-10 finishes at the NCAA West Regionals. Sheffield was a three-time conference coach of the year. His expertise also extends beyond the collegiate borders with several of his athletes making names for themselves on the international stage. One of his more notable athletes was his sister, LaTanya Sheffield, who competed in the 400-meter hurdles at the 1988 Seoul Olympics during a career that spanned through the 2000 Olympic Trials. "UC Davis has elite students," Sheffield said. "I'm here to help us have elite athletes as well. The University of California system is attractive on its own. The mental aspect is the most important part of training for an athlete. That will allow them to compete at a higher collegiate level." Sheffield's recognition in the track and field community, particularly as a coach whose unique rotation hurdling technique has been noted by the Olympic Development Committee, has already helped focus attention on the Aggies' program as a destination for hurdlers. Sheffield earned his undergraduate degree from San Diego State in 1980 after enjoying a track and field career that resulted into two All-America honors.