Crowder College adds distance to track program
Dec. 13—NEOSHO, Mo. — Athletes at Crowder College will have more opportunities for competition this spring as the Roughriders will soon add a distance track program to the 10 sports Crowder currently offers its student athletes.
Currently, Crowder offers cross country for both men (8k) and women (5k) and the addition of distance running would open opportunities for additional events, from 800 meters up to 10,000 meters.
Addition of the program was approved by the Crowder College Board of Trustees at its monthly meeting Monday, Dec. 4, at the recommendation of Crowder athletic director, Brandi Arthur.
In a statement, Arthur emphasized the benefits of the distance program for the school.
"Our cross country program has grown since we started it in fall of 2022," Arthur said in the statement. "Adding Distance Track in the spring provides another opportunity for our student-athletes to compete at the college level, and to grow Roughrider Athletics and enrollment overall."
Crowder currently has 212 student athletes in 10 sports and the addition of the program will increase that to 232, with the addition of 10 male and 10 female runners. Roughriders currently compete in baseball, cross country, golf and soccer for men, and basketball, cross country, golf, softball and soccer for women and co-ed sports.
Crowder cross country coach Jake Holt will serve as head coach for both the men's and women's programs, which compete in Division I of the National Junior College Athletic Association.
Holt talked about the benefits of adding the program, especially in his ability to attract new athletes with more options than cross country alone.
"When you are trying to build a program and get better athletes, the idea that they can't run track as well is a deterrent for a lot of kids," Holt said. "The kids that are serious about distance running want to compete year-round. They want to compete in cross country and they want to compete in indoor and outdoor track, so if you can't offer track and field, you are losing an entire level of kids, for sure."
Holt said the program will begin this spring. Crowder currently has a track club that does not compete as a National Junior College Athletic Association school.
"I'm excited about building the program and looking forward to what the future holds," he said.
Holt, who was hired as Roughriders' head cross country coach in 2022, was the longtime track and field coach at East Newton High School and is founder of one of the largest running camps in the country, the SWMO Running Camp, which draws about 450 athletes and coaches from across the United States.
