Gibby Selected to Guide Men's Cross Country Program
7/29/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
July 29, 2010
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- University of Michigan director of athletics Dave Brandon announced Thursday (July 29) the hiring of Alex Gibby as head men's cross country coach and assistant men's track and field coach. Gibby replaces longtime distance coach Ron Warhurst, who retired earlier this month after 36 seasons at the helm.
"Alex is regarded as one of the best and brightest young coaches out there today," said Brandon, "and we are so delighted to bring him and Kathy into the Michigan family. He has a proven track record and brings a vast wealth of knowledge and experience that we believe will take our program to new heights on both the conference and national levels."
Gibby served as head coach of the William & Mary men's cross country and track and field programs for the past seven seasons (2003-10). During his tenure, William &Mary registered four straight top-16 finishes at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, captured three NCAA Southeast Region and seven Colonial Athletic Association cross country titles and placed second or better at five CAA Track and Field Championships, winning the 2004 event.
Last fall, Gibby was honored as the Southeast Region Coach of the Year for the third time in his career (2005, '08, '09) after leading the Tribe to fifth place at the NCAA Championships -- the second-best showing in William & Mary program history -- and three individual All-Americans. He is also a seven-time CAA Coach of the Year recipient.
Gibby guided his William & Mary student-athletes to nine NCAA All-American citations, including six in cross country, as well as six CAA Athlete of the Year accolades and 39 individual CAA titles. Seven of Gibby's runners have represented the United States in international competition, most notably Dave Mock, who captured gold at the 2007 NACAC Junior Cross Country Championships, and Ed Moran, a two-time World Cross Country Championships competitor (2008, '09) who captured 5,000-meter gold at the 2007 Pan-American Games and, most recently, won his first-ever road title at the USA Men's 10K Championships.
"This is an exciting opportunity to be part of the Michigan tradition," said Gibby, "and I'm excited to begin the next stage of my coaching career. Michigan is such a huge name -- both academically and athletically -- and it holds a special place in the fabric of college athletics and in higher education. It's difficult to come in and replace a great coach who was there for 36 years in Ron Warhurst, but I'm very much looking forward to the challenge."
Prior to his appointment at William & Mary, Gibby guided the Stephen F. Austin men's and women's cross country and track programs from 2000-03, leading the Lumberjacks and Ladyjacks to four team titles and 18 individual conference championships. In 2002, he was named the Southland Conference Men's and Women's Coach of the Year after his teams completed an unprecedented sweep of both the team and individual cross country championships. He earned his start in coaching as an assistant coach at William & Mary (1997-99), contributing to the Tribes' three straight top-13 NCAA finishes.
A 1997 graduate of William & Mary, Gibby was a four-time All-CAA honoree in cross country and track, a CAA Champion in the 5,000m, IC4A qualifier in the 5,000m and 10,000m, all-east in 10,000m and an NCAA provisional qualifier in the 10,000m. He was also a member of two NCAA-qualifying cross country squads in 1994 (18th) and 1995 (17th).
Gibby was married to Kathy Newberry in the summer of 2005. Newberry served as head coach for William & Mary's women's cross country and track programs for the past five seasons (2005-10), guiding her teams to 10 CAA titles, including five in cross country, while garnering seven CAA Coach of the Year awards. She has represented the United States in five of the last seven World Cross Country Championships, finishing a career-best 24th at the 2008 event, and a year later, serving as the U.S. team captain. On the track, Newberry has competed in the last two Olympic Trials at 10,000 meters; she also contested the 5,000m at the 2004 Trials.
Contact: Bruce Madej, Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
