By Olga Gomez |
The third place trophy for the 2014 NCAA cross country National Championship is the first thing you see when you walk into the cross country offices which are tucked away in the side hallways of the Chiles Center. Coach Rob Conner sits, almost always wearing a faded baseball cap, opposite the mighty trophy.
Conner is humble for a man who has been able to accomplish something unparalleled in the NCAA for the University of Portland’s cross country team. In his 26 years at UP, Conner took a team without so much as a track to run on, and put them on the national stage. For eight consecutive years he has kept the Pilots in the top 14 teams in the country.
Last year’s third place finish was the best in program history.
“Last year was a dream season...what I’m calling once-in-a-career season” Conner said. “Just because of the talent at the top of team was really unprecedented in its depth and they were a very focused and determined group since they got here as freshmen.”
The team has not always been this powerhouse. Conner took the underdog, put in the time, and built the program Portland knows today. Still, the team is the best team students cannot put a face to.
Ian Solaf, who is now the head women’s cross country coach, ran for Conner when he was a student. When Solaf ran for Conner, the team was only about 10 runners. Now there are over 30 on the roster.
Many of the runners on the team did not have the best time in high school, but Conner gave them the chance.
“That's the kind of person Rob Conner is,” senior Griffin Hay said. “He sees potential and he admires perseverance. And he doesn’t criticize your flaws but instead waits for you to come talk about what those issues are. The end result — UP’s cross country team does not only have bright students, but also exceptional athletes.”
With his unique bubbly personality, Conner has been able to build an atmosphere for his runners. Reid Buchanan, a senior runner for Conner, was going to quit the sport before he discovered UP.
Buchanan said the only reason he continued to run was because Conner offered him a spot on the team.
“There isn’t one person who has gone through this program, despite how well they ran or how poorly they ran, that doesn’t like (Coach Conner)...it’s because of how genuine he is,” Buchanan said.
Outside of coaching, Hays says that Conner acts as a mentor, expressing genuine interest in his athletes’ daily lives.
“He is really focused on making sure that his athletes are happy and fit and healthy,” Hay said.
“He is going to try to help them maximize their performance... He takes a personal interest in your daily life, daily runs, not just your hard workouts, not just your hard races. He is going to make sure you have every opportunity to succeed.”
Despite the fact that cross country is not a spectator sport, Athletic Director Scott Leykam says they bring a lot to the athletic program as a whole.
“Rob is a true educator in every sense of the word,” Leykam said in an email. “He does an outstanding job recruiting student-athletes who fit the University mission both athletically and academically. Rob not only makes our cross country and track student-athletes the best runners they can be, but also does an excellent job preparing them for life after The Bluff."
Olga Gomez is a sports writer for The Beacon. She can be reached at gomezo18up.edu.
