Washington State University Athletics
Wayne Phipps Signs New Contract
December 12, 2017 | Cross Country, Track
PULLMAN, Wash. -- Washington State University and Director of Cross Country/Track & Field Wayne Phipps have signed a new employment agreement, Cougars interim Director of Athletics John Johnson announced Tuesday. The agreement will run through June of 2023.
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"Wayne has done a great job of continuing to build success in the cross country and track and field programs at WSU," Johnson said. "The three consecutive NCAA appearances by the men's cross country team and an All-America performance by a WSU woman this season are the most recent examples of his ability lead Cougars to Pac-12 and national prominence."
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Phipps, 49, became the Director of WSU XC/T&F July 1, 2014. He is the 15th coach to take the reins of the Cougars men's program and the second coach for the combined men's and women's program at WSU.
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For the past three consecutive seasons, the WSU men's cross country team has received an at-large berth to the NCAA Championships and twice have finished higher than the USTFCCCA national ranking entering the title meet. The 2016 squad, ranked No. 18 nationally, placed 14th, the highest finish by a WSU team in 32 years. In 2017, the No. 27 Cougars finished 24th while in 2015 WSU was ranked No. 25 and finished 26th. The 2017 cross country season brought national honors to Vallery Korir from the women's team. Korir, a junior who transferred into WSU in January of 2017, earned All-America honors with her 33rd-place finish at the NCAA Championships, becoming only the fourth woman in WSU women's cross country history to earn All-America honors for cross country. Last spring hammer thrower Brock Eager and heptathlete Alissa Brooks-Johnson won Pac-12 titles and were joined by hurdler CJ Allen as NCAA Outdoor All-Americans.
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During the past three track and field seasons, Phipps and his staff have mentored student-athletes to school top-ten performances 24 times in the indoor season and 47 times in the outdoor season. Additionally, during Phipps' tenure at WSU, there have been conference all-academic honors awarded to WSU student-athletes 51 times in cross country, 88 times in indoor track and 86 times in outdoor track.
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"My most sincere gratitude to President Schulz, John Johnson and Anne McCoy for their support and belief in me," Phipps said. "It is an honor to be part of the WSU Athletics department and I am very excited to continue to work with my staff, my student-athletes and my administration as part of an exciting future of WSU track and field and cross country."
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The Cougars begin the 2018 indoor track and field season Jan. 12-13 at meets in Nampa and Seattle.
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"Wayne has done a great job of continuing to build success in the cross country and track and field programs at WSU," Johnson said. "The three consecutive NCAA appearances by the men's cross country team and an All-America performance by a WSU woman this season are the most recent examples of his ability lead Cougars to Pac-12 and national prominence."
Â
Phipps, 49, became the Director of WSU XC/T&F July 1, 2014. He is the 15th coach to take the reins of the Cougars men's program and the second coach for the combined men's and women's program at WSU.
Â
For the past three consecutive seasons, the WSU men's cross country team has received an at-large berth to the NCAA Championships and twice have finished higher than the USTFCCCA national ranking entering the title meet. The 2016 squad, ranked No. 18 nationally, placed 14th, the highest finish by a WSU team in 32 years. In 2017, the No. 27 Cougars finished 24th while in 2015 WSU was ranked No. 25 and finished 26th. The 2017 cross country season brought national honors to Vallery Korir from the women's team. Korir, a junior who transferred into WSU in January of 2017, earned All-America honors with her 33rd-place finish at the NCAA Championships, becoming only the fourth woman in WSU women's cross country history to earn All-America honors for cross country. Last spring hammer thrower Brock Eager and heptathlete Alissa Brooks-Johnson won Pac-12 titles and were joined by hurdler CJ Allen as NCAA Outdoor All-Americans.
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During the past three track and field seasons, Phipps and his staff have mentored student-athletes to school top-ten performances 24 times in the indoor season and 47 times in the outdoor season. Additionally, during Phipps' tenure at WSU, there have been conference all-academic honors awarded to WSU student-athletes 51 times in cross country, 88 times in indoor track and 86 times in outdoor track.
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"My most sincere gratitude to President Schulz, John Johnson and Anne McCoy for their support and belief in me," Phipps said. "It is an honor to be part of the WSU Athletics department and I am very excited to continue to work with my staff, my student-athletes and my administration as part of an exciting future of WSU track and field and cross country."
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The Cougars begin the 2018 indoor track and field season Jan. 12-13 at meets in Nampa and Seattle.
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Players Mentioned
Hurdles
/ Track
Hurdles/Multi
/ Track
Throws
/ Track
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