After serving as the men’s & women’s cross country head coach at Northwestern State University for the past three seasons, Long Island University Director of Athletics Debbie DeJong named Chris Sauer head coach of the LIU men’s & women’s cross country teams Wednesday morning.
“We are excited to welcome Chris to our LIU family,” said Director of Athletics Debbie DeJong. “Chris is a highly motivated individual with a great mindset and plan to make us a top competitor in cross country.”
Sauer will also serve as the distance coach for the men's & women's track & field teams at LIU. He joined the Northwestern State Athletics staff as the head cross country and distance coach in July 2016. During his time at NSU, Sauer made an immediate impact on the distance program. In just three short years, Demon distance runners more than tripled the points scored in distance events at Southland Conference Track Championships over the previous four years combined. During that time, school records have been set in the men’s mile, women’s steeplechase, women’s DMR and men’s 3000m.
"I'm incredibly excited to back in New York to join Long Island University especially at the beginning of its transformation bringing its Post and Brooklyn teams together,” said Sauer. “I especially wanted to thank Lloyd Ribner, Debbie DeJong, Simon Hodnett, and Jessica Roque for this opportunity and to thank the athletes and staff at Northwestern State University that helped me grow so much as a coach to be ready to build the program here at Long Island University."
One of Sauer’s most notable standouts on the men’s side at NSU was Maryland native Joshua Wilkins. Wilkins led off his senior year with the highest cross country finish for Northwestern State in 13 years with his sixth-place conference finish. This was followed by a stellar regional meet where he placed 38th in the South. Indoor that year, Josh set school records in the Mile running 4:12.15 as well as the 3000m running 8:38.82. He went on to place 3rd indoors in the mile as well as in the 1500m outdoor that same year. His time of 3:49.83 ranks 4th in NSU history for the 1500m.
This past year, the men also saw Slavoski Wright make a splash in the conference in the 800m. Wright’s 1:52.78 ranked in the top 5 in the event in the southland conference. He also ran on the 4x400m relay splitting a season best 48.5 at the conference meet.
Another standout group for the Demon’s has been its female 800m runners. Their transformation saw three girls improve by more than seven seconds in a single year. This includes Jessica Coleman (2:13.74), Erin Wrozek (2:15.15), and Jasmine Dansby (2:16.85). Coleman and Wrozek made NSU one of only two teams to score multiple runners in the 800m Outdoor Conference final in 2017. The duo were also members of the DMR team to break the school record by 17 seconds in 2017.
Jacqueline Rushford showed one of the most profound changes in her final two years as a Demon working with Sauer. Her senior year alone saw a 26 second improvement in the 3000m steeplechase making her the first woman from Northwestern State to score in the event at a conference championship and managed to break the previous school record by seven seconds.
The 2018 cross country season also brought out the best in a young women’s team that included sophomore, Isabella Hudson who improved 42 places from her freshman year at the Southland Conference meet. She was joined by Emily Blanchard who was the highest placing freshman in NSU history.
Prior to his time at Northwestern State University, Sauer worked as a volunteer assistant coach at his Alma Mater, Stony Brook University. There he worked primarily with middle and long distance events, steeplechase, and recruiting.
As a runner, he was part of the Seawolves first ever cross country conference team title on the men’s side. During his time as a student-athlete, he also worked with Sparta High School’s track program.
Sauer holds certifications through U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA) for endurance, strength and conditioning, jumps, throws, and technical certifications as well as the U.S.A Track & Field (USATF) with their Level I Certification. He holds a bachelor’s degree in biology with a concentration in neurobiology and physiology from Stony Brook and received his master’s degree in sports administration from Northwestern State.