SEATTLE -- The University of Washington has extended the contract of cross country and track & field coach Greg Metcalf through the 2011 track season, director of athletics Scott Woodward announced today.
Metcalf, who is entering his 12th season as the head cross country coach and his seventh in charge of the Husky track & field program, signed a deal that will carry through June 30, 2011.
“Greg Metcalf is one of the top young coaches in collegiate track and field and we are thrilled to have him here at Washington,” said Woodward, who was named the UW’s new director of athletics on Wednesday. “He has taken our program to a new level and I am confident that, under his leadership, Husky track and field will continue to rise to a place among the nation’s elite.”
“In my time here at Washington, I have been fortunate enough to be surrounded by great people, coach great athletes, and help Washington track & field reach new heights,” Metcalf said. “It is my firm expectation that in the coming years, this program will go onto even larger successes.
“I am obviously ecstatic about the opportunity, not only from a coaching standpoint, but also because of what it does for me as a person,” he continued. :I have been a Husky all my life, and this situation allows for me and my family to remain in Seattle, as well as aids in the continuity and progress I believe we have established here. Given the great combination of academics, athletics, and an international city, exciting times lay ahead for past, current, and future Washington track & field athletes.”
Metcalf has led the women’s cross country squad to the NCAA championships in nine of his 11 seasons, including six top-20 finishes. Last season, the Husky women finished eighth at the NCAA meet, the highest finish in program history. The UW men have competed in the national meet three times in the last five years, including a 12-place finish in 2006.
In track & field, Metcalf led the UW men to a 16th-place finish at the 2008 NCAA outdoor meet, the team’s second straight top-20 finish. The men also finished seventh at the NCAA indoor championships.
In addition to their athletic prowess, Metcalf's teams have been among the brightest at a school renowned for its high academic standards. His teams are eight-time recipients of the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic honor, including the men's team being named the 2008 Outdoor Scholar Team of the Year. UW placed 44 athletes on the Pac-10's All-Academic cross country or track teams in 2007-08.
Metcalf, a native of Ephrata, Wash., was a two-time All-American and four-time Academic All-Pac-10 honoree as a distance runner at Washington. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the UW in 1993.
The UW men’s and women’s cross country teams open their 2008 season this Saturday when the Huskies host the annual Sundodger Invitational at Lincoln Park in West Seattle. Races begin at 9:00 a.m.
