HENDERSON, Nev. (August 13, 2021) – Starting a new sanctioned intercollegiate sport is hardly an easy process, but that's exactly what the College of Southern Nevada Department of Intercollegiate Athletics is doing this fall.
The Coyotes have sanctioned a pair of new sports – Men's-and-Women's Cross Country – and are opening their inaugural season of competition under coach Bryan Astudillo this fall. The addition of Cross Country means Southern Nevada has added a sanctioned sport for the second-consecutive season, fresh off the heels of basketball in the 2020-21 academic year.
Dexter Irvin, CSN's Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, said Cross Country was a natural fit for the Southern Nevada campus community.
"There is a great history of running and competitive running in the Las Vegas area," said Irvin. "CSN is excited to provide our local student-runners an opportunity to compete at the highest levels while finding their educational stride at a great institution."
Astudillo, who also serves as the athletic director at Somerset Sky Pointe High School in Las Vegas, said his team is already adapting well in preparations for their opening season of competition.
"This process of starting a new team has been fun and stressful at the same time," he said. "It has been a blast going around to our local schools, getting to meet all these great student-athletes, and getting to know what the local running community really looks like. I believe there is an excitement going around now that we are offering a full Cross Country program."
When starting a program, finding a niche of athletes to recruit is a critical function of a coach. Fortunately for the Coyotes, the Las Vegas Valley has a strong tradition of prep competition in Cross County and Track-and-Field, along with easy access to fertile recruiting grounds in neighboring states.
For recruiting purposes, Astudillo said his chief concern remains finding students who are interested in earning a quality education at Southern Nevada.
"I am looking for students that will represent themselves and our program 'the Coyote Way'," he said. "I am a big believer in the term 'student-athlete', so our recruits need to know that they have to perform well in the classroom. Outside the classroom, I expect our athletes to show up to every practice and trust the process of getting better throughout a long season."
Besides the strong recruiting ground, the region is also full of superb training venues. CSN has utilized local training hotspots such as Floyd Lamb Park, Sunset Park and even nearby Mount Charleston in preparations for their program debut this fall.
"We will be competing in various West Coast states such as Arizona, California, Utah, and Idaho this year," he said. "We have very high hopes to be able to host a full Cross Country meet here in Vegas during our second year."
As far as goals for the upcoming year, Astudillo said he is merely focused on preparing his team for its future growth, both individually-and-teamwide.
"Performance wise, our goal is to adjust the men into the 8k race and then to help each individual get personal bests throughout the season so that when we peak at the end of the season, we will see great individual and team times," he said. "Also, we have a goal of getting our name out in the community and letting people know that we do exist, and we are here to help the community in any way possible."
