It's a dynamic episode this week! Ben and Garrett reunite behind the mics to chat about the stunning hiring of Joe Franklin to Louisville as the Cardinals' newest Director of Track & Field and Cross Country. The guys then break down their favorite nominees for TSR's End of Season Awards and give their votes for each honor. Be sure to listen, review and subscribe! Louisville Hires Joe Franklin (2:26) D1 Men's 2023 Outdoor Track Best Freshman Award (16:21) D1 Women's 2023 Outdoor Track Best Freshman Award (20:59) D1 Men's 2023 Outdoor Track Most Improved Award (25:44) D1 Women's 2023 Outdoor Track Most Improved Award (30:56) D1 Men's 2023 Outdoor Track Best Performance Award (34:39) D1 Women's 2023 Outdoor Track Best Performance Award (39:23) D1 Men's 2023 Outdoor Track Best Distance Coach Award (44:56) D1 Women's 2023 Outdoor Track Best Distance Coach Award (47:53) D1 Men's 2023 Outdoor Track Most Valuable Runner Award (52:19) D1 Women's 2023 Outdoor Track Most Valuable Runner Award (55:07) You can listen to that episode (and others) on our PODCASTS page! You can also find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Soundcloud. If you like it, be sure to leave us a rating and a review ! Note: If you're having issues loading the episode on the site via mobile, try refreshing the episode page. We will look into this issue for future episodes.

Earlier today, Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated first reported that New Mexico head coach, Joe Franklin, was going to be named as the next Director of Track & Field and Cross Country at the University of Louisville. It would be only a few hours later that the Louisville Athletic Department confirmed the hiring with their own press release. Back in April, it was announced that Dale Cowper, the former Director at Louisville, would be stepping away from the program at the conclusion of the 2023 outdoor track season. It was also announced earlier this spring that Eric Heins, the former distance coach for the Cardinals who also led the Northern Arizona men to their first national title in 2016, was leaving Louisville to become the next distance coach at Indiana. Joe Franklin is one of the most accomplished women's distance coaches in all of the NCAA, producing juggernaut cross country squads, multiple national champions and countless All-Americans. Under Franklin's direction, the Lady Lobos secured two cross country national titles as a team (2015 and 2017) as well as two runner-up team finishes on the national stage (2018 and 2022). They have also secured seven podium team finishes on the grass in the last nine years. Individually, multiple all-time collegiate distance stars have come through the Albuquerque-based program. That list includes former collegiate standouts such as Weini Kelati, Ednah Kurgat and Courtney Frerichs. The list of upper-tier All-American runners who have donned a New Mexico singlet in the past 16 years are simply too long to list. However, for greater perspective on the Lobos' often-great depth, consider that the New Mexico women had five individual All-Americans at the NCAA XC Championships last fall. Franklin will now be joining a Louisville program whose national presence in the distance events has largely eroded over the last five to eight years. And while there have certainly been individual distance standouts who have emerged as nationally competitive names, the collective identity of this roster is almost void of any significant distance presence, at least as currently constructed. The last time that the Louisville women qualified for the cross country national meet was 2016 where they finished last. The men last qualified for that meet as a team in 2015 where they earned a strong 7th place finish. While Louisville's roster isn't currently the distance-friendly program that New Mexico was built to be, one coach I spoke to said, "[Franklin] will have distance going soon there." The New Mexico women are set to enter the 2023 cross country season with a mass number returners from last year's runner-up podium squad. Per TFRRS, the Lobos will return all five of their All-Americans as well as their seventh runner. It should be noted, however, that one of those women has already been in the transfer portal for the last couple of months. While the New Mexico men haven't had nearly the same success as the women's team (largely due to significant scholarship limitations), they did recently add distance running megastar, Habtom Samuel Keleta, to their 2023-24 roster. The 19-year old holds personal bests of 13:13 (5k) and 27:28 (10k). With Franklin's departure, is it possible that his top women follow him to Louisville, Kentucky later this summer? If so, how many roster spots and scholarships will be immediately available? It's not entirely clear what will happen next, but a program that was once an ACC distance running afterthought has suddenly become one of the more interesting programs in the NCAA as we dive deeper into this offseason.

Written by Gavin Struve, edits via Garrett Zatlin Earlier today, NC State announced that women's distance coach, Laurie Henes, is being promoted to the program's Director of Track & Field and Cross Country role starting this upcoming academic year (2023-24). In addition to her role as head coach of the women’s cross country team, Henes will now take the mantle of overseeing the Wolfpack’s track and field program in its entirety. Rollie Geiger, who recruited Henes as a student-athlete and has held the position for nearly 40 years, will stay on as the men’s head coach for cross country. Henes’ ties in Raleigh, North Carolina run nearly as deep as Geiger’s. She won the 5k national title at the 1991 NCAA Outdoor Championships as a member of the Wolfpack and has been with the program in a coaching capacity since 1992. In her latest role, she has been named USTFCCCA National Coach of the Year in 2021 and 2022. She was also named ACC Coach of the Year eight times. Henes has played perhaps the most significant role in turning NC State into a modern-day distance dynasty, leading the Wolfpack women to both of their NCAA cross country national titles (in 2021 and 2022) and their only runner-up finish on the national stage during the 2021 NCAA Winter XC Championships. Before breaking through to become a true national power, NC State had immense success on the conference stage under Henes. The Wolfpack women have amassed eight ACC team titles on the grass since she became the women’s head coach of cross country in 2006. The program’s individual stars have also enjoyed just as much success as the overall team has. Henes has stockpiled NC State's women's program with elite talents, including four-time national champion Katelyn Tuohy, one of the most accomplished high school distance recruits in American history and one of the greatest collegiate distance runners ever. In 2020, the NC State women were ranked as the top distance-centric recruiting class in the NCAA by The Stride Report. They also received a top-10 ranking in 2019 as well. Henes’ daughter Elly, who is now a professional runner for Adidas, won the 5000 meter title at the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships while competing for NC State. She’s been joined by numerous individual All-Americans on the grass and the track across the past few seasons. While admittedly expected, Henes' promotion to a Director role will prolong and solidify the Wolfpack women’s distance dynasty. This shifting of job titles may also be hinting at the eventual retirement of Rollie Geiger, the program's former Director who has been with the Wolfpack men and women since 1979. The NC State men have been solid repeat qualifiers for the NCAA XC Championships in recent years. But despite a pleasantly surprising 11th place result on the national stage last fall, they are far from the near-podium lock that their female counterparts have proven to be. Above all, Henes’ promotion puts one of the most accomplished and revered coaches in distance running in firm control of one of its most successful programs. It's a marriage that should continue to cause headaches for NC State’s conference and national competitors for years to come.

Earlier this week, the University of Missouri announced that Kyle Levermore, a former assistant distance coach at Georgetown, will be joining the Tigers as the team's newest assistant distance coach. The former Oregon and Arkansas distance runner will work under head distance coach Lindsey Anderson, an Olympian and former collegiate record holder, to help further the development of the Missouri men and women. When pairing Levermore's recent introduction with the also-recent addition of fellow assistant coach Zak Montoya (who joined the team in January), the Tigers will now have three distance coaches on their staff. Earlier this year, the NCAA Division One Council announced that they would be eliminating the voluntary coach designation across all sports, meaning that the max number of paid coaching positions allowed on collegiate sports rosters would increase. In track and field, the max number of allowable paid coaching positions sits at 12 coaches. Volunteer coaches are still allowed in any capacity. The rule change will go into effect at the start of the 2023-24 academic calendar. As a result, Levermore is likely one of many coaches who will be taking advantage of new opportunities that were once not available. In fact, one non-SEC coach who I spoke to earlier this spring, said that "The SEC is going wild with the addition of new coaches," and that there will be, "a lot of upwards movement this summer." During his time with the Hoyas, Levermore played an integral role in the recruiting of top distance talents from the high school level and from the transfer portal. According to The Stride Report, the Georgetown men have landed a top-10 distance-centric recruiting class in the NCAA over the last two ranked years (2021 and 2022). Levermore also played a role in bringing Robert Brandt from UCLA to Georgetown as a graduate transfer in the summer of 2020. Earlier this year, the Hoyas also signed one of the best high school middle distance runners ever in Tinoda Matsatsa. The Maryland native and incoming freshman holds personal bests of 1:48 (800) and 3:58 (mile). The Georgetown women, meanwhile, landed a handful of top transfers last year and were able to emerge as a top-10 team at the 2022 NCAA XC Championships. Levermore will be joining a Missouri distance program that, historically, has sat in the middle of the team standings as far as SEC cross country is concerned. The Tigers are, however, responsible for producing Karissa Schweizer, one of the greatest collegiate distance runners of all-time. Luckily, Missouri was ranked by The Stride Report as having a top-10 distance-centric men's recruiting class this past year, giving the Tigers a strong nucleus to build around and a bright future as well. It should also be noted that the University of Missouri will be hosting the NCAA XC Championships in the fall of 2025.