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Back on the run: Kent State at Trumbull to field cross country teams
By JOHN HARRIS
CHAMPION
When Bill Hess drove past the Kent State at Trumbull campus, he envisioned the school fielding a cross country team one day.
“I used to drive by this place all the time and say there really should be cross country here,” said Hess, a former Youngstown State track and cross country performer who has coached at area high schools since 1987.
That day is here.
On Thursday, Kent State at Trumbull dean and chief administrative officer Lance Grahn made the possibility a reality upon announcing the addition of men’s and women’s cross country as a club sport next year with Hess becoming volunteer coach.
The school last fielded athletic teams in 1992 when basketball, volleyball and golf were discontinued.
“We’re very excited. We see this as the first step in ongoing athletic development,” Grahn said at a news conference. “We have a bookstore like a real college. We have a library like a real college. But we don’t have athletics. This is just one of the ways we can give students opportunities to grow and develop.
“Cross country is a practical first step for us,” Grahn continued. “We combined our interest in reviving athletics with Bill’s interest in bringing his talent to campus.”
Hess, who lives in Warren, has been a full-time cross country and track coach at Niles, his alma mater, since 2009. He got his start as a head coach when he was placed in charge of Ursuline’s cross country team in 1987. He ran cross country at Youngstown State and also ran track for the Penguins.
“This is a tremendous opportunity,” said Hess, who was joined by the program’s first runner, sophomore-to-be Briana Ellwood. “It just worked out that they were looking to put a cross country team together, and I was looking to coach.”
Cross country is only the first step in the athletic transformation. Citing Kent State at Tuscarawas as a blueprint, Grahn plans to add bowling and archery in the future as well as his school joining an organized conference by fall 2019.
Kent State at Tuscarawas added women’s volleyball, men’s golf and men’s and women’s cross country last year, with baseball, softball and men’s and women’s track being added this spring. Men’s and women’s soccer and wrestling will be added next year. The school is a member of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA), where many member schools belong to the NCAA and NAIA and play Division II and Division III opponents.
“They’re leading the way and providing us a model how to do it,” said Grahn, who added that athletics helped Kent State at Tuscarawas increase enrollment.
Kent State at Trumbull has a current enrollment of 2,400.
“We are looking to add another sport or two, even next year,” said Grahn, indicating that bowling and archery are also on the radar because, like cross country, they are relatively inexpensive to operate. “We can go from being a student club sport to a club sport to organized collegiate athletics where we can compete for conference championships.”
Hess, who is confident of fielding a team of 10-12 runners, expects to compete next year against Youngstown State and Westminster. He also contacted coaches at Hiram and Thiel about potential races.
“This area is rich in talent. I don’t have to go far,” Hess said. “I already know a lot of these kids from being in Niles.”