Matt Wackerly begins his fourth season as head coach of the Ohio Wesleyan University men's and women's cross country teams.
Last year, the Ohio Wesleyan men's team placed third in the North Coast Athletic Conference championship meet and 15th in the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional meet. The Bishop women finished fourth in the NCAC championship meet and 13th in the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional meet.
In 2011, the Ohio Wesleyan women's team finished second in the NCAC championship race and went on to a ninth-place showing at the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional meet. Ohio Wesleyan had its first-ever NCAC individual champion and sent a runner on to the NCAA Division III championship meet for the second consecutive season, recording a 50th-place finish. The Bishop men placed third in the NCAC championship and fourth in the Great Lakes Regional meet, narrowly missing a second consecutive appearance in the NCAA championship meet.
The 2010 men's team finished third in the NCAC standings, the Bishops' best finish since 2006. Ohio Wesleyan went on to finish fourth at the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional meet, matching the Bishops' best-ever finish in a regional meet, and advanced to the NCAA Division III championship meet for the first time since 1979. The Bishop women's team tied for fourth place in the NCAC standings and went on to place 11th at the NCAA Division III regional meet, landing 2 runners on the all-region teams. Ohio Wesleyan sent a runner on to the NCAA Division III championship meet, posting a 30th-place finish to win All-America honors for the first time since 1982.
Prior to taking over the reins of the cross country programs, Wackerly spent 4 seasons as assistant and associate cross country coach. He continues to serve as an assistant coach with the Ohio Wesleyan men's and women's track & field teams.
On the track, Wackerly has coached 19 school record holders, 14 NCAC champions, one NCAC Athlete of the Year, and 4 NCAA qualifiers. In 2012, the Bishop women had their first All-American in a long-distance event, finishing in sixth place in the 5000m. Additionally, Wackerly earned NCAA Great Lakes Region Assistant Coach of the Year honors in 2011.
The Ohio Wesleyan harriers made great strides during Wackerly's first 4 seasons with the Bishop cross country programs. In 2009, the men's team finished sixth in the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional meet, at the time the Bishops' best finish in a regional meet since 1981, and sent a runner to the NCAA Division III championship meet for the first time since 1983. The Battling Bishop women had an all-region performer in each of Wackerly's first 4 seasons at Ohio Wesleyan, sending a runner to the NCAA Division III championship meet in 2006, and the women's team's second-place finish in the 2008 NCAC championship meet equaled Ohio Wesleyan's best conference finish ever.
Wackerly came to Ohio Wesleyan from Stonehill College, where he was an assistant coach for the men's and women's cross country and track & field teams. During his 3 years at Stonehill, he helped the Skyhawks win a pair of conference championships, the school's first ever in men's cross country. He coached 5 NCAA Division II All-Americans in cross country.
The Skyhawk distance runners were successful on the track as well, as he coached 3 NCAA Division II national qualifiers and 13 school record holders.
Wackerly is a 1998 graduate of Ashland University. During his undergraduate career, he was a 3-time national qualifier in cross country and a 3-time conference champion in track for the Eagles. He majored in English and earned a master's degree in sports management from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2003.
Wackerly is a native of Lexington, Ohio.
