The 2012 campaign marks Doug Clark's fourth season in command of the distance runners for the Tigers track and field/cross country program. This fall, Memphis cross country looks to improve on the teams' successful 2011 campaigns in recent years. Last season, the men's and women's squads had their best showings at the Conference USA Championships in several years. The Tigers tied the program's best finish at the league's event with a sixth-place performance. The Memphis men's squad also placed sixth at the 2001 and 1998 C-USA Championships. The Tigers won their first meet for the first time since 2001, taking top honors at the 2011 Rhodes Invitational. Memphis also participated in the NCAA South Regional, the program's first regional appearance since 1999. Tigers sophomore standout James Maglasang won his second career event at the 2011 Rhodes Invitational and placed 15th at the 2011 C-USA Championships. Maglasang's finish earned him All-C-USA third team accolades. It was the first time a Memphis male performer placed in the top-15 since Mate Nemeth won the 2004 C-USA crown and was named All-C-USA first team. The Lady Tigers were just as impressive in 2011. The women's team finished seventh at the 2011 C-USA Championships, the program's second-best performance at the league event (6th in 2005). The Lady Tigers won their first meet since 2005, taking victory at the Rhodes Invitational. The squad also competed in the NCAA South Regional for a second time in Clark's tenure. Clark joined the Memphis track and field/cross country staff in 2009 with an impressive resume. Overall, Clark has coached All-Americans in cross country, 1500m, mile, 3000m, 3000m steeplechase, 5000m and distance medley relay. He has also coached an NCAA individual champion in the 3000m steeplechase and an Olympian in the 1500m. Before moving to the Bluff City, Clark spent nine years at Kansas. In his final five seasons with the Jayhawks, Clark coached four cross country All-Americans. Clark's cross country squads posted top-20 finishes at the 2005 (12th) and 2006 (20th) NCAA Championships. From 2004-06 in Lawrence, Clark coached three-consecutive Big 12 individual champions from 2004-06 (Benson Chensang in 2004-05 and Colby Wissel in 2006). He also guided Charlie Gruber to a second-place finish in the 1500m at the 2004 Olympic Trials, earning the Kansas alum a 1500m spot on the USA Olympic Team. Prior to Kansas, Clark was an assistant coach at Tulsa from 1994-2000. While at Tulsa, Clark's athletes set school records in the 800m, 1000m, 1500m, mile, 3000m, 3000m steeplechase, 5000m, distance medley relay and 4x800m relay. Clark coached distance runner Dwight Davis, who posted a 3:59.29 mile time to become the Golden Hurricane's first NCAA All-American. In 1994 at UTEP, Clark assisted the Miners to a third-place team finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships and a national runner-up team performance at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. That same year, Clark coached Jim Svenoy to the 3000m steeplechase crown at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and a runner-up finish in the 3000m at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Clark began his coaching career at Arkansas as a volunteer assistant coach, before being promoted to a full-time assistant in 1991. With Clark on staff, the Razorbacks swept the nine NCAA Championships in cross country (three), indoor track (three) and outdoor track (three) -- commonly referred to as the "NCAA Triple Crown" -- in the 1991-92, 1992-93 and 1993-94 academic years. As the Arkansas recruiting coordinator, Clark helped assemble one of the most dominant programs in the history of collegiate track and field/cross country, producing more than two dozen All-Americans. A 1981 graduate of Central Missouri State University, Clark was an NCAA cross country qualifier. He also was a 1980 Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier, posting a time of 2:17:40. Clark was the top Master's runner in Oklahoma from 1996-2000, recording times of 14:58/5k, 25:45/8k and 31:41/10k. |
Memphis Tigers
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