Basic HTML Version
2013 Cross Country Media Guide
Southern Illinois Cross Country
SIUSalukis.com
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Head Coach Matt Sparks
Matt Sparks
Head Coach
12th Season
Indiana, 1997
Matt Sparks enters his 12th season at SIU in
2013-14 as both the middle distance and distance
track coach and the head coach of the cross
country program.
A native of Noblesville, Ind., Sparks has been at
SIU since 2002, starting out as the head women’s
cross country coach and women’s distance track
coach until the track and field programs were
combined in 2004. Since, Sparks has been head
men’s and women’s cross country coach and head
men’s and women’s distance coach for Saluki
track.
Sparks has led a resurgence in Saluki cross
country not seen since the days of legendary
coaches Bill Cornell and Lew Hartzog. In his first
season in charge of the combined program, Sparks
led the Saluki men to a share of the Missouri
Valley Conference championship (the first for SIU
in nine years) and in 2007 and 2008 the Saluki
men repeated as MVC champs -- also for the first
time in a decade. Just last season Sparks earned his
fourth men’s title with a decisive win that included
five All-MVC runners in the top-ten.
The women’s program only has one MVC
title (1992), but under Sparks the Saluki women
have consistently competed among some of the
country’s best teams in the MVC. During his first
four seasons at SIU (2003-06), the Saluki women
did not finish worse than third in the Valley and
finished as the runner-up three times in that time
period. In 2012, the Saluki women finished third
-- their best finish since 2006.
Sparks graduated from Noblesville High School
in 1992 where he was a three-time top-five finisher
in the state cross country meet and a four-time All-
Indiana track and field recipient.
As a student-athlete at his alma mater Indiana
University, Sparks was a consistent scorer at the
Big Ten Championships on the track. In 1996, he
narrowly missed qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor
Championships in Eugene, Ore., running a time
of 14:12.82 in the 5000 meter run. All four years
he spent in Bloomington, Sparks was a top-three
runner for the Hoosier cross country team. He
gained valuable experience working with four-time
national champion and American record holder
Bob Kennedy and Hall of Fame coach Sam Bell.
Sparks first started coaching at IU as a graduate
assistant and volunteer assistant for three seasons.
He played a key role in the recruitment and
development of many cross country and track and
field athletes for the Hoosiers. Additionally, he was
part of the coaching staff of the women’s Hoosiers
team that won both the indoor and outdoor Big
Ten Championships in 2000.
Prior to joining the Salukis, Sparks enjoyed
a successful two-year stint at Ohio State as the
head women’s cross country coach and women’s
distance coach alongside future Saluki coaches
Connie Price-Smith and John Smith from 2000-02.
The Lady Buckeye distance crew set school records
in the 3000m steeplechase and the distance
medley relay under Sparks’ direction.
Since coming to Southern in 2002, Saluki cross
country under Sparks has consistently been one of
the top squads in the highly-competitive Missouri
Valley. In addition to his four team championships,
Sparks has two All-Americans (Jeff Schirmer, 2008-
09), four MVC champions (Mohamed Mohamed,
2006; Jeff Schirmer, 2007-08; Dan Dunbar, 2010),
and five national qualifiers -- the most recent
finalist being Brian Dixon in 2012 (143rd).