Connie Gardner Named Head Cross Country Coach

Connie Gardner Named Bryant & Stratton College-Ohio Cross Country Head Coach

Solon, Ohio (May 19, 2020) – Eric Lahetta, director of athletics at Bryant & Stratton College - Ohio has announced the hiring of Connie Gardner as the new women's and men's cross country head coach.  Gardner is an accomplished ultramarathon runner with 11 USATF national championship victories in her career. She is also a world record holder.

"Connie Gardner is a winner and competitor.  She is a winning athlete and coach and cares deeply about helping student-athletes reach their maximum potential in competition and in life.  I am thrilled to bring her work ethic and passion, as well as the incredible success she has garnered nationally to Bobcat Nation.  I welcome Connie's enthusiasm and I'm looking forward to her helping us build a culture in our department that will positively influence everyone involved," said Lahetta.

Prior to being brought on to lead the Bobcats cross country program, Connie has been the head boys and girls cross country coach at Archbishop Hoban High School, since 2015. She will finish out 2020 with Hoban.

Gardner looks to bring a championship mentality to the burgeoning young NJCAA cross country program, and has results to back up her high standards. During her running career, Gardner won the Burning River Race four times, last in 2012. She is a five time winner of the Mohican 100 Mile Trail Race, most recently in 2016. Other victories include, the NorthCoast 24-Hour Endurance Run, the Tussey Mountainback 50 Miler, and the JFK 50 Miler. Her career has been widely covered including publications like Runners World, Podium Runner, and The Devil Strip which is a local Akron, OH outlet.

For the last twenty years, Connie has coordinated ultra-marathons, for non-profits. This includes the Colin Cares Foundation race for teens with cancer which takes place in Medina, OH.

Gardner attended the University of Massachusetts and majored in Sports Management, where she was a member of the university's rowing team. A comprehensive look at Connie's titles and records can be found on her Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connie_Gardner.

Gardner is currently recruiting women and men for the 2021 fall cross country season. Interested recruits can fill out a recruit form here: https://ohio.bscbobcats.com/Recruitment/MCC_Recruiting