Wims to Lead Men’s Cross Country, Adds Hurst, Gandy to Staff
8/17/2017 10:24:00 AM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country, Track & Field
Jerod Wims assumes leadership of men’s program and completes coaching staff
MACON, Ga. – Jerod Wims was named head coach of the Mercer men's cross country program Thursday morning, giving him leadership of both Mercer's cross country teams and the track and field program.
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Wims – who was named the women's cross country and track and field head coach last month after serving in an interim capacity – also completed his three-person staff with the hiring of Taylor Hurst as an assistant coach and Mariah Gandy as an assistant to the cross country and track and field programs.
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"I am thrilled to have Coach Hurst and Coach Gandy on board with our programs," Wims said. "Both were very accomplished athletes and have been surrounded by success over the course of their respective career. I am positive that all of that success will rub off on our program heading into this fall."
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Hurst spent the last two seasons as a volunteer assistant coach at Wake Forest, where he aided the Demon Deacons' cross country and track and field programs in coaching and recruiting. Prior to Wake Forest, Hurst was a XC/T&F assistant coach at North Texas. A 2012 graduate from UNCG, Hurst competed in cross country and track and field for the Spartans where he earned All-Southern Conference honors twice in the 800-meter, once as a sophomore (indoors) and once as a senior (outdoors).
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Gandy is a 2015 graduate of LSU, where she completed a successful collegiate career that started at McNeese State in 2011. She was named the 2012 Southland Conference Women's Outdoor Track & Field Athlete of the Year at McNeese State after being crowned the SLC champion in the heptathlon with her school-record performance at the 2012 SLC Outdoor Championships. After transferring to LSU, Gandy established herself as one of the Southeastern Conference's leading sprint hurdlers in 2014 with finalist finishes in the 60-meter hurdles (indoors) and 100-meter hurdles (outdoors).
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Mercer's cross country programs will open their 2017 campaign Sept. 1 at the Strut's Season Opener in Jacksonville, Alabama, hosted by Jacksonville State.
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Follow the Bears
For complete coverage of Mercer Cross Country, follow the team at @MercerXCTF (Twitter) and visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.
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Wims – who was named the women's cross country and track and field head coach last month after serving in an interim capacity – also completed his three-person staff with the hiring of Taylor Hurst as an assistant coach and Mariah Gandy as an assistant to the cross country and track and field programs.
Â
"I am thrilled to have Coach Hurst and Coach Gandy on board with our programs," Wims said. "Both were very accomplished athletes and have been surrounded by success over the course of their respective career. I am positive that all of that success will rub off on our program heading into this fall."
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Hurst spent the last two seasons as a volunteer assistant coach at Wake Forest, where he aided the Demon Deacons' cross country and track and field programs in coaching and recruiting. Prior to Wake Forest, Hurst was a XC/T&F assistant coach at North Texas. A 2012 graduate from UNCG, Hurst competed in cross country and track and field for the Spartans where he earned All-Southern Conference honors twice in the 800-meter, once as a sophomore (indoors) and once as a senior (outdoors).
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Gandy is a 2015 graduate of LSU, where she completed a successful collegiate career that started at McNeese State in 2011. She was named the 2012 Southland Conference Women's Outdoor Track & Field Athlete of the Year at McNeese State after being crowned the SLC champion in the heptathlon with her school-record performance at the 2012 SLC Outdoor Championships. After transferring to LSU, Gandy established herself as one of the Southeastern Conference's leading sprint hurdlers in 2014 with finalist finishes in the 60-meter hurdles (indoors) and 100-meter hurdles (outdoors).
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Mercer's cross country programs will open their 2017 campaign Sept. 1 at the Strut's Season Opener in Jacksonville, Alabama, hosted by Jacksonville State.
Â
Follow the Bears
For complete coverage of Mercer Cross Country, follow the team at @MercerXCTF (Twitter) and visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.
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