Murray State cross country/track and field head coach Dereck Chavis knew he was getting an excellent coach when Chris England joined MSU as an assistant coach.
The improvement the cross country teams have shown this fall are outstanding.
The men's and women's teams have seen several student-athletes set personal records this fall season, and the MSU women's team won the Evansville Invitational last weekend.
"Chris has done an excellent job with both teams," Chavis said. "He is respected and he has done a great job individualizing the players' workouts to bring out the best in each of them. Our program has reaped the benefits of his knowledge since the first day he stepped foot on campus."
England, a graduate of Ohio State University, brings a strong knowledge of cross country and track and field and a wide variety of coaching experience to the Murray State program.
"I want to bring the knowledge and experience I've had as a competitor," England said. "I just want to share and help our kids perform to the best of their abilities. I'm very happy with what they've done so far."
England enjoys the coach/athlete relationship.
“It's important to produce great athletes,” England said. “In addition I want to see them succeed in the classroom as well as prepare them to be model citizens after they graduate."
As an athlete, England was a two-time NCAA All-American in Indoor Track and Outdoor Track, and in the Indoor 5,000 Meter Run (1997), and the Outdoor 10,000 Meter Run (1997) for OSU.
Other athletic accomplishments include winning three individual Big Ten championships, as well being a seven-time All-Conference selection in track and field. England was an All-Big Ten Academic selection in 1997.
When England graduated from Ohio State in the spring of 1997 with a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education, he held three OSU records, and one still stands to this day ? his 5,000 meter time of 13:43. England also holds one record at Ohio University, where he attended before transferring to Ohio State.
As a professional athlete and Olympic hopeful, England trained full-time under two former world record holders, and competed in various world competitions and United States of America Track and Field (USATF) national championship events. England was ranked number 11 in the United States in 1997, and was a 2006 USATF National Champion.
England's coaching career began where he left off at OSU, where he served as assistant coach from 1998-2000, and 2006-2007.
After working with the USATF-New England Association from 1997-98, England was a volunteer assistant coach at Boise State University. England then moved on to Grandview Heights High School in Columbus, Ohio, serving as assistant coach in 2000, developing the student-athletes' distance/middle distance techniques.
From 2001-2004, England enlisted in the United States Army for active duty service. There, England served in numerous leadership roles, including platoon and squad leader, and working with the military's recruiting efforts. He earned the Army Achievement Medal, Army National Defense Service Medal, and Army Good Conduct Medal, while being a Distinguished Graduate and learning Advanced Individual Training in Fort Lee, Va.
From there, England moved on to the University of Wyoming, where he served as a graduate assistant, working in numerous capacities within the athletic department like administration, ticket sales, communications, marketing all sports teams, and academic services.
Starting in 2006, England became a personal coach, assisting coaching professional runners as well as numerous local post-collegiate athletes at all levels. England had the experience of helping coach Olympic hopefuls such as Rob Myers (3:34 1500) and Brian Olinger (8:19 steeple).
In 2007, England was the meet co-director of the prestigious Jesse Owens Track Classic in Columbus, Ohio. England's duties included assisting with all aspects of executing national caliber competition, ordering of and payment of goods and services provided from vendors, and arranging the accommodations for officials, invited athletes, coaches, and staffs.
