Nesbitt Named Interim Cross Country Coach at Metro State

by Andy Schlichting, MSCD Sports Information Director

DENVER, Colo. - Metro State athletic director Joan McDermott announced that assistant cross country and track coach Sean Nesbitt has been promoted to interim head cross country coach to replace Pete Julian. 

The announcement comes one day after Julian accepted the middle distance, distance and cross country coaching position at Washington State University in Pullman, Wash.

"We were very disappointed to see Pete leave us, but realize that is a great opportunity for him," McDermott said.  "We are fortunate to have someone with Sean's experience and coaching abilities already in our program.  This will make the transition much easier on our student- athletes.  We know Sean has been a big part of our success and believe he will continue to bring great things to our cross country and track programs."

Nesbitt, like Julian, has been with the cross country and track programs at Metro State since their recent inception.  The pair started the cross country program in the fall of 2005 and the track program a year later after Metro State disbanded both programs in the mid-1980s.  Nesbitt has overseen the recruiting aspect for the Roadrunners, as well as assisted with developing day-to-day training programs.

Metro State has seen improvement in both the cross country and the track programs in each of their seasons so far.  This spring, the Roadrunners men's indoor track team finished 10th at the NCAA Championships and the outdoor team placed 16th.  Both the men's and women's cross country squads finished in the top-20 nationally as the men took 14th and the women 19th during the fall.  Junior Anthony Luna won national championships in the indoor and outdoor 800 meter runs this spring.

"Filling in for someone with Pete's experience is going to be a tough challenge, but he's laid such a great foundation that will make the transition easy," Nesbitt said.  "Our training philosophies have been so intertwined over the years that our athletes will not have to go through a transition.  This is going to be a very exciting year with all of the returners we have to build on last year's success nationally for both the men and the women."

Nesbitt is a native of Oregon and moved to the Denver Metro Area in 2000 to pursue his running career.  He has competed in the United States Cross Country National Championships four times, finishing as high as 23rd in 2003, one spot behind Julian.  He also competed at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials in the marathon.  Nesbitt was a four-year letterwinner at Eastern Oregon University where he earned All-America honors three times in cross country and once in the 10,000 meter run. 

In 1996, he earned EOU Male Athlete of the Year honors.  He finished his bachelor's degree in history in 1997.

In addition to his duties with the cross country and track programs, Nesbitt also serves as a facilities planner at Metro State.

McDermott plans to open a national search for the permanent cross country and track head coaching position.