2011 Cross Country Coaches

Mike Collins, Ph.D.

Head Coach, 15th Season

Boise State '93, Utah '96, Idaho '99

mcollins@lcsc.edu

 

When Mike Collins started coaching at Lewis-Clark State he thought it would be a short-term engagement. Little did he know that he would fall in love with coaching and the athletes. Now entering his 15th season with the Warriors he has taken this short-term project and helped to turn it into one of the premier running programs in the country.

In the past 12 years Collins’ teams have produced 61 All-Americans, seven conference Runner-of-the-Year winners, one Region I Runner-of-the-Year and champion, and numerous all-conference and all-region selections. Additionally, the Education Division’s Student of the Year has been a cross country runner four times (2001, 2003, 2008 and 2010) and in 2009 the President’s award that goes to the outstanding graduate was awarded to a cross country runner (Rosa Bautista). Additionally, his teams are always amongst the best in team GPA and academic accomplishments. Coach Collins earned Frontier Conference Men’s and Women’s Coach of the Year honors for the third consecutive year in 2009 and added the Men's Coach of the Year honor again in 2010.

For the past 10 years the women’s cross country team has placed in the top-25 at nationals each year, finishing (chronologically) 15th, 9th, 19th, 17th, 19th, 21st, 19th, 14th,15th and 18th. A full men’s team qualified for nationals for the first time in 2003 and finished 23rd. The men’s squad has also competed at nationals in each of the past fiveyears, finishing 21st, 18th, 22nd, 22nd, and 19th.

Collins works hard to stay on top of the current research, science and methods in regards to coaching his runners. He has a Master’s degree in Exercise Physiology from the University of Utah and a Ph.D. in Sport Science from the University of Idaho. All of his research at both schools dealt with improving the performances of endurance athletes. He is also a USATF Certified Level II coach with a specialization in endurance and is working towards his Level III. Although Collins works hard to stay on top of the latest in the sport, he is a big believer in the heart and work ethic of his athletes. No matter what they may or may not have been “gifted” with, if they are willing to work hard, they will get faster.

He is also a part of the leadership within the sport of running, serving as President for the NAIA Cross Country Coaches Association and has been a national rater for the past eight years as well as a member of many coaching committees. This leadership also extends into his other campus work where he is a member of the Lewis-Clark State College Faculty Senate, a committee member on the athletic advisory board and other campus groups.

In his spare time Collins enjoys fly fishing, running, doing triathlons and spending time with his family. His wife Tracy is the head athletic trainer at Lewis-Clark State and assists with the team. His two daughters (Kassie – 10 and Emily – 7) provide a great deal of fun and have already indicated that they want to run for daddy some day and be a “country kid.”

From an athletic standpoint, Collins has qualified for the USA Triathlon National Championships five times and completed his first Ironman Triathlon (2.4m swim, 112m bike, 26.2m run) in 2005 finishing in 11:06.24 after cramping up 13 miles into the run. He raced his second Ironman in 2009 with results not as good, but still finishing and with a renewed mindset to do another and qualify for the world championships in Hawaii.

Collins also believes that he should be willing to walk the walk and not just talk the talk. In addition to the triathlons, he runs on a daily basis and pushes himself to stay fit. Although he doesn’t run at the same level of his athletes, he works to be a good example of what it means to be committed to your sport, to work and train hard to be better.

 



Assistant Coach Tracy Collins

Boise State '93
tcollins@lcsc.edu

 

Tracy has served as an assistant coach since the beginning of the program and was instrumental in convincing her husband to come in and coach the team. As the athletic department’s head athletic trainer, she evaluates and treats the injuries of all athletes at the college, including those of the Warrior runners. She plays a major role in the development of the cross country scholarship program, where individuals and businesses contribute money to the team to be used by the student-athletes to help offset the costs of going to school. She also does many of the other administrative duties that help to keep the program moving in the right direction.

Tracy is a certified athletic trainer and has served as the ATC at Lewis-Clark State College for more than a decade. She also is a member of the NATA and the Idaho Athletic Trainers Association. She is also a board member of the Idaho State Board of Medicine for Athletic Trainers and is currently serving as its chair.

Tracy is a native of Lewiston and attended Lewiston High School, where she established several school records as a sprinter. Throughout her high school track career she finished first in several relays and in the 100 and 200 her junior year at the Idaho State Meet. When she graduated in 1988, Tracy held six individual and relay records in track and several of those still stand today, including an 11.93 time in the 100 meters and a 24.97 clocking in the 200.

Tracy ran track at Boise State University, competing in the 100, 200 and 400 meters as well as on relay teams. She graduated from BSU in 1993 with a Bachelor’s degree in Athletic Training. She is currently working on her Master’s degree.

Now Tracy spends a lot of her time running after her daughters Kassie and Emily, and loves being a mom. When she has time, she enjoys reading, photography, scrapbooking, and staying at the family’s cabin on the Selway River.

 


 
Student Assistant Coach Casey Hampton

Casey had the pleasure of running at the NAIA  Outdoor Track & Field national championships as a senior.She qualified for the marathon by placing fourth in the half marathon at the 11th annual Lost Dutchman Marathon in Apache Junction, Ariz., and then went on to place 39th at the national meet in 3 hours, 29 minutes, and 21.84 seconds. In her only cross country meet, she finished 35th at the Frontier Conference meet. Casey also excelled in the classroom last season and earned Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athlete honors. During her junior year, she finished among the team's top seven runners, the first at the Whitman Invitational, and later at the Northwest Cross Country Challenge. She did well as the Whitman Invitational as a sophomore when she finished 31st overall, which was her second top finish of the season. Her best sophomore race was at the conference meet when she was 24th. She also placed 30th at the Whitman Invitational during her freshman year. Casey was a four-year letterwinner in both cross country and track at Bonners Ferry High School in Idaho.




 
Student Assistant Coach Jake Miller

Jake capped a four-year career by earning all-Frontier Conference honors for the fourth straight year by finishing ninth at the conference meet. He then came on strong and finished 95th at nationals, which was the second-best finish by an LCSC runner a year ago. He also finished 21st at the Eric Anderson meet, but then finished out of the top six for LCSC in the next two meets before his strong showing at the conference meet. As a Junior, Jaker claimed four top-three overall finishes (Whitman Invitational – third; Erik Anderson Invitational – second; LCSC Invite – third; Frontier Conference Championships – third) in helping the Warriors take the conference title. He earned his first career finish as team’s No.1 at the Inland Northwest Cross Country Challenge, placing eighth overall with a season-best time of 25:07.47. He was the fifth Warrior at NAIA national meet, finishing in 27:12 and placing 132nd. He also participated in track as a junior and won his heat and recorded personal-best time in 5,000m at the Duane Hartman Invitational. Jake placed eighth at the Frontier Conference meet as a sophomore and was fifth during the Region I championships as a freshman. Jake attended Moffat County High School in Craig, CO.


 
Student Assistant Coach Sean Huey

Sean wrapped up a solid four-year career in 2010 by being one of the top runners on the team all four season. As a senior, he placed fifth in the Idaho Invitational and 15th in the Erik Anderson Invitational to start the season, and later was 10th in the LCSC Invitational. Unfortunately an illness forced him to miss the conference and national meets. During his junior year, Sean earned three top-five overall finishes, including winning the Frontier Conference race, which earned him the conference's Runner of the Year honor. It was the third straight year that he won all-conference honorsHe went on to place 87th at the NAIA national race. As a sophomore, Sean won the team's Champion of Character Award and placed in the top 10 at the conference meet when he finished third overall. He was the team's No. 2 finisher at the NAIA meet. He also competed in track that season and finished fourth in the 5,000 meters at the Idaho Cup and won the same event at the Duane Harman Invite in Spokane.  As a freshman, he finished among LCSC's top six finishers in every race. He was LCSC's No. 3 finisher at the NAIA national meet. Sean attended Borah High School in Boise where he was a four-year letterwinner in cross country and track.


   

   
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