University of Notre Dame Men's Cross Country

Turner took over for Joe Piane, who retired in May 2014 just prior to the end of his 39th season as Irish track and field and cross country coach. Piane had been the longest-tenured head coach on the Notre Dame athletics staff. Turner originally joined the Irish program in September 2010. After serving as an assistant coach for two years, he was elevated to associate head track and field coach in October 2012 while continuing to oversee the training of all Irish sprinters and hurdlers.  "Alan has earned this assignment based on his contributions to our program over the past four seasons," says Notre Dame vice president and athletics director Jack Swarbrick. "He has an outstanding reputation in the track and field community, the coaching honors he has received are based on the top-notch quality of his work -- and his promotion has been widely applauded by our team members. We look forward to watching Alan and his staff continue to build the competitive level of our men's and women's programs."  In his four seasons on the Irish staff prior to assuming the head coaching role, Turner made a quantifiable impact at Notre Dame and proved himself as one of the top assistant coaches in the country. He has tutored seven Atlantic Coast Conference and 17 BIG EAST Conference champions, 14 All-ACC and 57 All-BIG EAST performers -- along with 18 first-team, six second-team and 22 honorable mention All-Americans. His student-athletes have broken 11 school individual and relay track and field records.  In 2015, the womens cross country team had a national champion in senior Molly Seidel and an eighth-place finish at nationals. Both Seidel and freshman Anna Rohrer led the team to new heights as they finished the year with having All-ACC, All-Region, and All-American honors during the cross country season. Turners two womens distance studs continued their success in the indoor track season as Seidel and Rohrer went 1-2 in the ACC Indoor Championships 3,000m and 5,000m. Seidel went on to win the 3,000m and 5,000m at the NCAA Indoor Championships while Rohrer finished fourth in the 5,000m to earn All-American status. Senior Margaret Bamgbose and graduate student Kaila Barber claimed individual first-team All-America honors to tie for 25th place at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Notre Dames 4x400m relay team, which included Bamgbose and sophomores Parker English, Payton Miller and Jordan Shead, finished in sixth place with a time of 3:31.95. Turner has 10 All-American and 40 All-ACC performers, as well as five ACC Champions in the indoor and outdoor seasons. In the 2014 season alone, Turner's student-athletes earned those four ACC championships and 14 All-ACC accolades. Between the indoor and outdoor NCAA Championships, Turner coached his sprinters to 12 first-team All-America honors. Under Turner's tutelage, junior Chris Giesting had a remarkable season for the Irish. Giesting earned All-America honors three times, was named the ACC Indoor Championships Most Valuable Performer after racking up 18 points and was also titled both the indoor and outdoor ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year. For his efforts, the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association named Turner a regional assistant women's coach of the year for 2014.  The fruits of Turner's labor also were evident in 2013 as student-athletes under him won 10 BIG EAST championships (seven individual, three relay) and claimed 33 all-BIG EAST scrolls. In addition, the Irish earned four first-team and four second-team All-America citations during the indoor season, before claiming two second-team and 11 honorable mention All-America scrolls during the outdoor season. Highlighting that group was sophomore Jade Barber, the BIG EAST Indoor Track Athlete of the Meet and the USTFCCCA Great Lakes Region's Women's Track Athlete of the Year during both the indoor and outdoor seasons after winning two BIG EAST individual crowns and two relay titles. Barber was named a first-team All-American once (60mH/indoor), a second-team All-American twice (100mH/outdoor, 4x400m relay/indoor) and an honorable mention All-American once (4x400m relay/outdoor). Barber later competed for the United States at the World University Games, winning a silver medal on the 4x100m relay.  Patrick Feeney in 2013 won his third straight BIG EAST 400m indoor title and finished fourth at the NCAA meet to earn first-team All-America honors (in a school record 45.92). Giesting was also a first-team All-American, finishing eighth at the NCAA indoor meet in the 400m. Giesting for the second straight year won the outdoor 400m BIG EAST title and was named Co-BIG EAST Track Athlete of the Meet for the second straight year. Michelle Brown swept both the indoor and outdoor BIG EAST 400m titles and finished the year with five BIG EAST titles. For his efforts, Turner was named the 2013 USTFCCCA Great Lakes Region's Men's Assistant Coach of the Year during both the indoor and outdoor seasons and the Women's Assistant Coach of the Year for the outdoor season.  2012 proved a brilliant season for Notre Dame sprinters and hurdlers, as three individuals won BIG EAST crowns -- Nevada Sorenson (60mH), Feeney (400m/indoors) and Giesting (200m and 400m/outdoors), while the women's 4x100m relay team also claimed the BIG EAST title. Turner's student-athletes set seven Notre Dame school records -- Indoors: Kaila Barber, 60mH at 8.27; Feeney, 400m at 46.55; Giesting, 500m at 1:01.28; women's DMR with Natalie Geiger running the 400m leg, 11:04.45; men's DMR with Giesting running the 400m leg, 9:35.48; Outdoors: Giesting, 400m in 46.03, men's 4x400m relay in 3:06.20.  Giesting was named BIG EAST Men's Outstanding Track Performer after winning the 200m and 400m titles as a freshman at the 2012 outdoor championship. He also ran the fastest 400m leg on the NCAA distance medley relay team that won the NCAA indoor title. Freshman Kaila Barber earned a bronze medal at the IAAF World Junior Track and Field Championships in the 400H.  In his first season in 2011, Turner coached Feeney, then a freshman, to a sweep of the BIG EAST 400m titles at the BIG EAST Indoor and Outdoor Championships. Feeney also was part of the All-America and Notre Dame record-setting distance medley relay that finished fourth at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Four of his student-athletes qualified for the NCAA East Regionals.  Prior to Notre Dame, Turner spent five seasons at Southern Illinois University. While at Southern Illinois, Turner served as the coach for the men's and women's sprint and hurdle squads as well as the relay teams. Regarded as one of the top sprint coaches in the Missouri Valley Conference during his five years in the league, Turner mentored 17 MVC champions during his tenure and 25 individuals who earned runner-up finishes. Saluki student-athletes earned all-MVC honors on 65 occasions. He also coached 25 NCAA regional qualifiers and one NCAA national qualifier. He helped the Southern Illinois women wins MVC outdoor crowns in 2009 and 2010.  Prior to his arrival at Southern Illinois, Turner spent two years (2004-05) at Proviso East High School (Maywood, Ill.) as an assistant coach in the sprints and horizontal jumps. While at Proviso East he coached one junior national champion, three junior national qualifiers, two Illinois High School Association state champions, three all-state honorees and six sectional champions. Three of his athletes from the 2004 squad earned Division I track scholarships. Before taking the job Proviso East, Turner assisted triple jumper Kamau Sullivan in qualifying for the USATF Nationals in 1993 and 1994, as a member of the Nike Indiana Track Club.  An accomplished student-athlete in his own right, Turner knows a few things about performing for a high-caliber program. A 1992 graduate of Indiana University, Turner was a three-time All-American for the Hoosiers. He won five Big Ten titles (two long jump, two 400 meters and one 4x400 relay) and was a three-time team captain while leading Indiana to five consecutive Big Ten Conference team crowns. In 1991, he captured the NCAA indoor long jump title and was runner-up at the NCAA outdoor championships that same year. He also qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 400 meters and 4x100 relay. More than 20 years since accomplishing that feat, Turner still holds the Indiana record in the outdoor long jump. Outside of collegiate competition, Turner finished in the top eight in the long jump at the USA Outdoor Championships four times. He was a member of five U.S. National teams and won the gold medal at the 1991 World University Games in the long jump.  Alan Turner Position: Head Coach Alma Mater: Indiana '92 Position: Head Coach Alma Mater: Indiana '92

Carlson is responsible for the men's cross country team and mens distance and mid-distance runners on the track.  During his tenure with the Irish, Carlson has assisted in coaching five NCAA Champions and directly coachingNotre Dame student-athletes to five new school records, six NCAA All-Americans and 12 athletes on Notre Dames top-10 lists. In 2016, the Irish women's track team finished fifth at the NCAA Indoor Championships, its highest finish in program history. Among the standouts to excel while working with Carlson are Alexa Aragon and Jessica Harris. Aragon, a four-time All-American (including twice in the 3,000m steeplechase) and Notre Dame record-holder in the steeplechase. Aragons steeplechase record of 9:54.37 coincided with an eighth-place finish and All-America honors at the NCAA Championships in 2014. Jessica Harris has three school records to her name (600m, 800m and 1,000m). Harris clocked a 2:04.24 at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships.  The Notre Dame womens cross country program has qualified for the NCAA Championships each year of Carlsons time with the Irish, while the men have made the trip three times. The Irish women reached a high-water mark in 2012, when the team finished 15 of 31 teams.  On the track, Carlson helped coach the Irish women to a runner-up finish at the outdoor championships in their inaugural year in the ACC, while the men placed third. Both teams finished in third place at the ACC Indoor Championships in 2013-14. During the 2012-13 season, Carlson helped the Irish womens track & field team to a pair of BIG EAST Championships, while the mens squad snagged two second-place finishes. During the cross country season, both Irish teams recorded top-30 finishes at the NCAA Championships.  In 2011-12, Carlson helped the Irish mens track & field program win two BIG EAST Championships, while the women earned a pair of top-four conference finishes. In the spring, he helped coach the mens distance medley relay team to an NCAA Championship during the indoor season, while the mens program went on to place 12 overall at the meet.  Prior to coming to Notre Dame, Carlson was a cross country coach and head distance coach for track at Saint Charles North High School in Saint Charles, Ill. There, he helped with both practice and operations in addition to his coaching responsibilities. A team captain and All-American at North Central College in Naperville, Ill., from 2006-10, Carlson helped the cross country squad capture a Division III national championship in 2009 after a runner-up finish in 2008. In 2009, he won the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin individual cross country championship. In 2010, the track & field squad claimed both the NCAA Division III indoor and outdoor crowns. Upon graduation, Carlson worked as a volunteer assistant track coach for seven months at his alma mater before moving on to Saint Charles North and, ultimately, Notre Dame. Sean Carlson Position: Assistant Coach - Cross Country Alma Mater: North Central College '10 Position: Assistant Coach - Cross Country Alma Mater: North Central College '10

Sparks' area of concentration with the Fighting Irish will be guiding the womens cross country program, as well as coaching Notre Dame distance runners throughout the indoor and outdoor track seasons. His second season at Notre Dame, Sparks was able to help coach Molly Seidel to another spectacular year. She added to her national championship tally as she went on to win not only the NCAA Cross Country Championship, but also NCAA titles in the indoor 3,000m and indoor 5,000m. Seidel also won the ACC Championship in cross country as well as the Great Lakes Regional. She continued her success in the indoor season and won ACC Championship titles in the 3,000m and 5,000m races.  Sparks was able to build exceptional depth with the newcomers on the team, with Anna Rohrer headlining that class. Under his direction, the women were able to get a third-place finish at the 2015 ACC Championships. At regionals, the team was able to get an automatic bid after the Irishs performance landed them in second-place. Seidels and Rohrers performances at the NCAA Championships, elevated the team to an eighth-place finish. The mens team was highlighted by the individual performance of Michael Clevenger that led him to the NCAA Championships, where he placed 38 out of 254 runners. The team was able to improve upon last years showing, where they placed sixth in the ACC Championships and fourth in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional. In his first season at Notre Dame, Sparks coached Molly Seidel through a standout junior campaign in both cross country and track and field. To headline her many accomplishments, Seidel secured a national championship in the 10,000-meter run at the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The national title complemented her All-America performance at the NCAA indoor championships and All-America standing at the 2014 NCAA Cross Country Championships. Along with Seidels individual achievements, Sparks led the Notre Dame womens cross country team to a fifth-place finish at the 2014 ACC Championships. The team went on to earn an at-large selection to the NCAA championships after placing sixth at the 2014 NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships. Ultimately, the Irish women claimed 29th at the NCAA championships. The mens cross country season was highlighted by a NCAA individual qualification for then junior Michael Clevenger. The Irish men supplemented Clevengers performance with a seventh-place showing at the ACC championships and sixth-place finish at the Great Lakes regional.  The track and field season concluded with a womens team garnering its highest finish in program history at the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, placing 13th overall. The previous high for the Irish came in 1999 when the team earned 17th place. Clevenger put together a performance to note, leading the Notre Dame mens distance core and picking up second team All-America recognition in the 5,000 meters. Sparks left Southern Illinois as its winningest cross country coach, with six Missouri Valley Conference crowns--men's titles in 2004, 2007, 2008, 2012 and 2013 and a women's title in 2013 (the first for the Saluki women in 21 seasons). He began his tenure in Carbondale, Ill. during the 2002-03 campaign and specialized in coaching cross country, middle-distance and distance events.  Across both cross country and track he coached 51 MVC event champions, 140 all-MVC performers, 127 MVC scholar-athletes and 10 NCAA event finals qualifiers. The MVC named Sparks its cross country coach of the year in 2007, 2008, 2012 and 2013. He coached eight teams to NCAA championship top-25 finishes, including the 2010 Saluki women's team that claimed ninth place at the outdoor national championships.  Sparks tutored five MVC most valuable track athletes and four MVC cross country athletes of the year. He has seen at least one Southern Illinois athlete in every distance event qualify for the NCAA regional meet. In addition to working with two cross country All-Americans at Southern Illinois, he coached two outdoor track Second Team All-Americans and 10 USA Track & Field Junior All-Americans. He produced one USATF Junior National Champion, a World Junior competitor and a Pan American Junior competitor.  Sparks coached 11 cross country teams at Southern Illinois that earned national academic honors. His 2003 Saluki women's squad (3.61) and his 2010 men's squad (3.6) had the second-highest grade-point averages in the nation.  "Matt gets the most out of his athletes. He's proven that year after year," Notre Dame track and field head coach Alan Turner said. "He is going to be great one on one with his athletes, both personally and as far as putting together great training programs. Whatever is ailing them, physically or mentally, he's going to solve it to get the most out of them. In addition, he has proven himself to be a tireless recruiter. Matt very much wants to be here at Notre Dame. I'm confident people down the line are going to say, `He was a great addition to the staff.'"  Turner and Sparks are hardly strangers. They previously spent five years together (2005-06 to 2009-10) as assistant coaches on the Southern Illinois staff.  At Southern Illinois, Sparks spent his first two seasons as the women's cross country coach and women's distance coach in track until the men's and women's programs combined in 2004. Since that time, he has served as cross country coach and distance coach for both the men and women.  Prior to his tenure at Southern Illinois, Sparks spent two years (2000-01 and 2001-02) as an assistant track and field coach at Ohio State, where he handled women's cross country and women's distance runners. He previously served three years (1997-98 to 1999-2000) on the Indiana University track and field staff, working as a volunteer assistant, graduate assistant and then an assistant coach--while also handling duties as executive director of the Indiana Track Club, the largest track club in the state.  A standout student-athlete at Indiana, Sparks competed in cross country and ran the 3,000m, 5,000m and 10,000m events as well as the marathon. He served as the Hoosier team captain in cross country as both a junior and senior in 1995 and 1996, as well as in track and field as a senior in 1997. Indiana selected him as its 1996 cross country MVP, and he helped the Hoosier distance-medley relay squad finish as the 1994 Big Ten Conference runner-up. At the high school level, Sparks six times won all-state recognition in cross country and track and field at Noblesville (Ind.) High School. Three times he claimed top-five finishes in the Indiana state high school cross country meet.  Originally from Noblesville, Sparks is a 1997 Indiana graduate with a degree in science education. He also earned a master's degree from Indiana in 1999 in applied sports sciences.  Sparks and his wife Emily are parents of a son, Samuel, and a daughter, Eliza. Matt Sparks Position: Associate Head Coach - Cross Country/Distance Alma Mater: Indiana '97 Position: Associate Head Coach - Cross Country/Distance Alma Mater: Indiana '97