Solinsky established himself as a coach with William & Mary the past three seasons, before which he was a volunteer assistant at University of Portland.
American Distance Great Chris Solinsky Joins Gators’ Coaching Staff
Thursday, July 13, 2017 | Track and Field, Cross Country
Solinsky helped William & Mary runners to 15 individual CAA titles, six All-America honors, and five CAA Cross Country team titles
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Chris Solinsky, the former American record holder and first non-African to break 27 minutes in the 10,000 meters, will join the University of Florida track and field and cross country programs as an assistant coach, head coach Mike Holloway announced Thursday (July 13) evening.
"Chris obviously made a name for himself as a runner, but what he's done as a young coach is impressive as well," Holloway said. "He's a fiery competitor, and he's a winner. We think those two things will enable Chris to bring a lot of passion and a lot of intensity back to our distance group."
Solinsky joins the Gators' coaching staff after three seasons at College of William & Mary (2014-17), three years at University of Portland (2012-14), a record-breaking professional career with Nike, and a standout collegiate career for University of Wisconsin (2003-07), where he was a five-time NCAA champion and 14-time All-American. Solinsky also helped the Badgers to wins at the 2005 NCAA Cross Country Championship and 2007 NCAA Indoor Championships.
"I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity Coach Holloway's presented me with at the University of Florida," Solinsky said. "With everything the University of Florida has at its disposal and the atmosphere of the team right now, I'm excited to pitch in my part to make sure the distance runners are contributing just as much to that success and culture.
After working as William & Mary's assistant men's and women's distance coach his first two seasons (2014-16), Solinsky was promoted to head men's cross country coach in 2016; he continued to serve as the assistant men's coach (distance) for the track and field team for the 2017 campaign.
Solinsky, a native of Stevens Point, Wis., was named the 2016 Colonial Athletic Association Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year last fall after leading the Tribe to their 17th consecutive team title.
On the track, Tribe runners won the 1,500 meters, 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters, and 3,000-meter steeplechase titles at the 2017 CAA Championships, in addition to accounting for 21 of the 30 scoring spots in the 800 meters and four aforementioned events. That staggering number included a sweep of all six scoring spots in the 5,000 meters.
Solinsky had a hand in six USTFCCCA All-America performances—all on the women's side—in his first two years with William & Mary. Two were outdoor first-team accolades, which came from Emily Stites' (10,000m) third-place finish, and Regan Rome's (5,000m) seventh-place finish at NCAA Outdoors.
Rome also broke the school record in the indoor 3,000 meters (9:09.74) in Feb. 2016 and ranks No. 3 on the William & Mary All-Time Indoor Top 10 in the 5,000 meters (15:58.07 – Feb. 2016). Those were two of the 12 William & Mary All-Time Top 10 women's performances Solinsky assisted in.
"I'm incredibly grateful for Stephen Walsh, the director who brought me (to William & Mary) three years ago, and now Coach (Alex) Heacock for bumping me up to head men's cross country coach," Solinsky said. "It's been an amazing three years. I'm really sad to leave all the guys. They accepted the challenges I gave them and performed really well consistently. Very grateful for the opportunity. I'll probably always be a fan of the William & Mary Tribe."
Solinsky's Coaching Notables
Solinsky's Coaching History
What They're Saying About Chris Solinsky
"People who know cross country and distance running know Chris Solinsky … from his days as a multiple-time NCAA champion at Wisconsin, to his brilliant exploits as a professional runner. What they probably don't know is that Chris has been able to use those experiences to effectively coach and motivate the men and women in our program for the past two years.
"Chris is a great coach, but also a great competitor and I know he will do a great job in continuing to set the bar high for our men's distance runners and help them achieve great success under his tenure." – Alex Heacock, William & Mary Director of Track & Field and Cross Country, after promoting Solinsky to Head Men's Cross Country Coach on Sep. 5, 2016
Solinsky's Notable Running Achievements and Accolades
Solinsky is one of the most accomplished American distance runners in history, despite not making an Olympic team or earning a World Championships medal.
The highest note came on May 1, 2010 at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif. It was there the Wisconsinite demolished the American 10,000 meters record by 14.38 seconds (26:59.60). Solinsky had never run a 10,000 meters race prior to that evening.
Below are some of Solinsky's other achievements as a runner:
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"Chris obviously made a name for himself as a runner, but what he's done as a young coach is impressive as well," Holloway said. "He's a fiery competitor, and he's a winner. We think those two things will enable Chris to bring a lot of passion and a lot of intensity back to our distance group."
Solinsky joins the Gators' coaching staff after three seasons at College of William & Mary (2014-17), three years at University of Portland (2012-14), a record-breaking professional career with Nike, and a standout collegiate career for University of Wisconsin (2003-07), where he was a five-time NCAA champion and 14-time All-American. Solinsky also helped the Badgers to wins at the 2005 NCAA Cross Country Championship and 2007 NCAA Indoor Championships.
"I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity Coach Holloway's presented me with at the University of Florida," Solinsky said. "With everything the University of Florida has at its disposal and the atmosphere of the team right now, I'm excited to pitch in my part to make sure the distance runners are contributing just as much to that success and culture.
After working as William & Mary's assistant men's and women's distance coach his first two seasons (2014-16), Solinsky was promoted to head men's cross country coach in 2016; he continued to serve as the assistant men's coach (distance) for the track and field team for the 2017 campaign.
Solinsky, a native of Stevens Point, Wis., was named the 2016 Colonial Athletic Association Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year last fall after leading the Tribe to their 17th consecutive team title.
On the track, Tribe runners won the 1,500 meters, 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters, and 3,000-meter steeplechase titles at the 2017 CAA Championships, in addition to accounting for 21 of the 30 scoring spots in the 800 meters and four aforementioned events. That staggering number included a sweep of all six scoring spots in the 5,000 meters.
Solinsky had a hand in six USTFCCCA All-America performances—all on the women's side—in his first two years with William & Mary. Two were outdoor first-team accolades, which came from Emily Stites' (10,000m) third-place finish, and Regan Rome's (5,000m) seventh-place finish at NCAA Outdoors.
Rome also broke the school record in the indoor 3,000 meters (9:09.74) in Feb. 2016 and ranks No. 3 on the William & Mary All-Time Indoor Top 10 in the 5,000 meters (15:58.07 – Feb. 2016). Those were two of the 12 William & Mary All-Time Top 10 women's performances Solinsky assisted in.
"I'm incredibly grateful for Stephen Walsh, the director who brought me (to William & Mary) three years ago, and now Coach (Alex) Heacock for bumping me up to head men's cross country coach," Solinsky said. "It's been an amazing three years. I'm really sad to leave all the guys. They accepted the challenges I gave them and performed really well consistently. Very grateful for the opportunity. I'll probably always be a fan of the William & Mary Tribe."
Solinsky's Coaching Notables
- 2016 CAA Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year
- Helped the William & Mary women's team reach the 2014 NCAA Cross Country Championship by winning the NCAA Southeast Region Championship
- Two women's USTFCCCA Cross Country All-Americans
- Two women's USTFCCCA Indoor Second-Team All-Americans
- Two women's USTFCCCA Outdoor First-Team All-Americans
- Helped coach two CAA Women's Athletes of the Year (Emily Stites, 2015; Regan Rome, 2016)
- Helped William & Mary runners win 15 CAA individual titles (13 track and field, 2 cross country)
- Helped Carolyn Hennessey (2014) and Emily Stites (2015) to CAA Women's Cross Country titles
- Assisted for 2014 and 2015 CAA Women's Cross Country Championship-winning teams
- Two 2017 men's NCAA East Preliminary qualifiers, including William & Mary's first 1,500m national quarterfinalist since 1995 (David Barney)
- Helped Ryan Gousse to consecutive men's NCAA East Preliminary qualifications in the 3,000m steeplechase (2015-16)
- Helped men's runners to four William & Mary All-Time Top 10 performances
- Helped women's runners to 12 William & Mary All-Time Top 10 performances, including Regan Rome's indoor 3,000 meters school record (9:09.74)
Solinsky's Coaching History
- William & Mary (2016-17) – Head Men's Cross Country Coach / Assistant Men's Track & Field Coach (Distance)
- William & Mary (2014-16) – Assistant Men's and Women's Distance Coach
- University of Portland (2012-14) – Volunteer Assistant Coach
- University of Wisconsin (2007) – Student Assistant Coach
What They're Saying About Chris Solinsky
"People who know cross country and distance running know Chris Solinsky … from his days as a multiple-time NCAA champion at Wisconsin, to his brilliant exploits as a professional runner. What they probably don't know is that Chris has been able to use those experiences to effectively coach and motivate the men and women in our program for the past two years.
"Chris is a great coach, but also a great competitor and I know he will do a great job in continuing to set the bar high for our men's distance runners and help them achieve great success under his tenure." – Alex Heacock, William & Mary Director of Track & Field and Cross Country, after promoting Solinsky to Head Men's Cross Country Coach on Sep. 5, 2016
Solinsky's Notable Running Achievements and Accolades
Solinsky is one of the most accomplished American distance runners in history, despite not making an Olympic team or earning a World Championships medal.
The highest note came on May 1, 2010 at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif. It was there the Wisconsinite demolished the American 10,000 meters record by 14.38 seconds (26:59.60). Solinsky had never run a 10,000 meters race prior to that evening.
Below are some of Solinsky's other achievements as a runner:
- Only American and one of six men in history to run sub-27 minutes (10,000m), sub-12:56 (5,000m), and sub-3:36 (1,500m), according to athlete bios maintained by the IAAF
- Others: Kenenisa Bekele (Ethiopia), Mo Farah (Great Britain), Haile Gebrselassie (Ehtiopia), Salah Hissou (Morocco), Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya)
- Second-fastest American 10,000 meters runner in history (26:59.60)
- Second-fastest American 5,000 meters runner in history (12:55.53)
- First non-African to break 27 minutes in the 10,000 meters (May 1, 2010)
- 2009, 2011 IAAF World Championships qualifier (5,000 meters)
- Sponsored professionally by Nike for eight years (retired in April 2016)
- 5-time NCAA champion – University of Wisconsin (2003-07)
- 2007 indoor 5,000 meters
- 2006, 2007 outdoor 5,000 meters
- 2005, 2006 indoor 3,000 meters
- 14-time All-American (3 cross country, 11 track and field—school record)
- 2007 USTFCCCA National Indoor Runner of the Year
- 2007 NCAA Indoor Championships team champion
- 2005 NCAA Country Championships team champion (individual bronze medalist)
- University of Wisconsin Athletics Hall of Fame (Class of 2017)
- Eight-time state champion at Stevens Point (Wis.) Area Senior High School
FOLLOW THE GATORS
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #GoGators; #PushTheButton; #TheMissionContinues
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