Alfred Names Former Saxons' Student-Athlete Matt Phillips Cross Country Coach
The Alfred Men's and Women's Cross Country teams officially have a new head coach as alumnus
Matt Phillips '10
has accepted the position.
"I am very excited for this opportunity. This is a young team with a lot of potential," Phillips said. "There are several men and women who I met this past fall during the cross country season, and have been coaching during the track and field season, that have a bright future in the sport and I can't wait to see how far they can go. I look forward to growing the team, coaching them to become better runners, as well as building them into strong leaders during their time here at Alfred University."
Phillips graduated from Alfred with a Bachelor of Science in ceramic engineering in 2010. He was a recipient of the Presidential Scholarship and made Dean's List from 2006 to 2007. Phillips is currently on the Saxon indoor track & field record board as he teamed with Lee Consolo '10, Jeremy Weaver '13 and Richard Scott '12 in the 4x400-meter relay in which they ran a 3:25.22 in 2010. In that same year, Phillips and his three teammates also broke the outdoor 4x400-meter relay school record with a time of 3:20.85.
Phillips has been a part of the Alfred cross country and track & field programs for the past eight years. He recently helped the cross country programs host their first meet in over 20 years as they had the Alfred University Short Course Meet on Jericho Hill. The Saxons also hosted their first-ever Empire 8 Conference Cross Country Championship this past season, and despite the cold and torrential downpour, the meet went off without a hitch.
"I am delighted that Matt Phillips has agreed to become our head cross country coach,"
Paul Vecchio, Director of Athletics said. "Matt's dedication to AU cross country and track & field is without equal, dating to his competitive days on our team to his most recent efforts as an assistant coach and playing a huge role in the growth of the program and the completion of the cross country course at Jericho Fields. Matt will work closely with
Angie Taylor, our head track & field coach, to continue to build our programs to a championship level."
Alongside of his cross country duties, Coach Phillips will still assist in the development of the men's and women's track & field programs.
- Information for this release provided by the athletic communications staff at Alfred -
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