DELONG NAMED FIRST FULL-TIME ASSISTANT trACK/CROSS COUNtrY COACH
TWO-TIME ALL-AMERICAN RAN FOR NIKE FARM TEAM

July 30, 2004

BOLIVAR, MO. ... Growth of the Southwest Baptist University track and cross country programs has resulted in the hiring of Jeff DeLong from Whitehall, Michigan. DeLong is coming to SBU after finishing his career with the Nike Farm Team.

Mark Misch, head cross country and track coach, says, "Jeff's character, personality, experience in the sport, insight, understanding, organizational and administrative skills all add up to a lot of potential as a coach. But his greatest strength as a Christian is the fact that he really cares about people. I know that will enable him to relate to a lot of different people from various backgrounds and help bring out the best in them."

After competing three years for the Nike Farm Team, DeLong will be fresh off of the Olympic Trials where he qualified for the semi-finals. He had the fourth fastest time in the 800 meters in the preliminary rounds. Earlier in the year, he took fifth place at the USATF Indoor Championshipsand has one of the top 10 times in the nation this year.

In 2002, he competed in several meets including the two competitons in Switzerland where he took first place. He also won the Victoria International and was ranked as high as fifth in the nation by the Track and Field News. The IAAF outdoor world list had him as high as 58th in the world.

DeLong says, “I have always felt God was preparing me to coach throughout my competitive career. However, the prospect of coaching at a Christian university has added an even more exciting dimension that I cannot explain. Meeting Coach Misch at the Olympic trials and spending four days with him left no doubt that SBU would be a great fit."

Graduating from Central Michigan University in 2001 with a bachelor’s in sports studies and a minor in coaching, Jeff had an outstanding career for the Chippewas. In four years of competition, he was a two-time all-American and Mid-American Conference champion. He set both the indoor (1:48.32) and outdoor record (1:47.70) for the 800 meter, also.

In his senior year, he won the Mid-American Conference championship in the 800 meter and broke the CMU outdoor 800 meter record. At the USATF Outdoor Championships, he claimed eighth place. As a junior, he was the Outstanding Meet Performer at the Hillsdale “Gina" Relays and then as a sophomore won the 800 meter MAC Championship with a third place finish at the Drake Relays.

DeLong comes from a strong background in running. In high school, he helped his team to the 1996 Class B state track championship before moving onto Central Michigan for a great collegiate career.

"Obviously it will be great to have Jeff on board. He brings a lot of different strengths to the program and I know he will do a super job for SBU as a coach. His competitive career speaks for itself, but believe it or not he is even more passionate about becoming a full-time coach," says Misch.

Jeff is married to the former Sarah Hamilton who was a two-time all-American and national champion at the University of Michigan.

“SBU has tremendous potential in the sprints and I am excited to both develop our current athletes and aggressively recruit throughout the country," says DeLong.