BOONE, N.C. – App State director of track & field/cross country Damion McLean has been chosen as the Sun Belt Conference Representative for the USTFCCCA Coaches Committee and will serve through December 2025.
McLean is entering his seventh season at the helm of the program and earned a contract extension that will run through the 2027-28 season. McLean oversaw the hiring of men’s distance coach Brad Herbster and women’s distance coach Annie Richards last fall. Herbster later guided the men’s team to its first Sun Belt title since 2019 and was named 2023 Sun Belt Coach of the Year.
Over the cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track season, the Mountaineers broke eight program records, collected 24 All-SBC honors, and four Mountaineers totaled eight SBC Athlete of the Week accolades, including two three-time selections. McLean also coached the 2024 Sun Belt Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Newcomer of the Year, Ashlee Osaji. App State sent seven Mountaineers to the NCAA East Preliminary Round, which is the most individual qualifiers the program has sent to the first round of the NCAA Outdoor Championships in program history.
The Mountaineers will open the 2024 cross country season on Friday with the Covered Bridge Open at the Don Kennedy Trails at State Farm. The Women’s 5K is slated for a 10 a.m. start with the men’s 6K to follow at 10:40 a.m.
