Rogers State University Athletics

Chris McCormick has guided the cross country and track & field programs at Rogers State since their inception and is in his 10th season at the helm of the cross country program, and sixth and fifth seasons overseeing the women's and men's track & field programs, respectively.

Under the watchful eye of McCormick since April of 2010, the Hillcats have continued to develop a strong program that has reached national recognition in recent years.

The 2018-19 season for the Hillcats continued to reach new heights. The women's cross country program was led by Katelyn Alexander, who was named the Heartland Conference Freshman Runner of the Year. Seth Whittington and Nick Williams combined to garner four Heartland Conference Runner of the Week honors before being named to the all-conference team.

Indoor Track & Field set seven new school records before Alfred Thomas would go on to record the best finish ever for a Hillcat at the Indoor National Championships. Thomas earned All-American honors with a sixth-place place run in the 200-meter Dash. In the 2019 outdoor season, track & field would add nine more school records and Thomas reached another new height for the Hillcats with a second-place finish in the 200-meter Dash at the Outdoor National Championships, the best RSU finish all-time. Thomas would garner a pair of All-American honors in the outdoor season and also was a part of the 4x100-meter relay team that qualified for the national championships with Mikel Stone, Quintin Powell and D'Jiron Lilley.

The 2016 season saw McCormick coach the first-ever NCAA Division II All-American in RSU history as Baylor Harvey finished 19th at the NCAA National Championships. Harvey was the Heartland Conference individual champion and Runner of the Year in 2016, repeating the awards he won in 2014.

In the spring of 2017, the Hillcats earned All-American honors in three events at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field National Championships. Baylor Harvey (5,000 meters), Quintin Powell (400 meters) and the 4x100 relay team of Powell, Ricky Bell, JaQuan Johnson and Djiron Lilley garnered All-American recognition for the first time in program history. On the women's side, Audrianna Morgan, Ashli Turner, Destiny Thompkins and Vivian Walters qualified for the national championships as well in the 4x100. The national championship performances came on the heels of a record-setting weekend for the Hillcats at the 2017 Great American Conference Championships, as RSU totaled nine conference championships, five for the men and four for the women. Harvey received CoSIDA Academic All-American honors as well.

With momentum from the spring season, McCormick guided the men's cross country team to its first-ever Heartland Conference championship in the fall of 2017 and he was named the 2017 Heartland Conference Coach of the Year. The navy and red made their first appearance in the NCAA Division II National Championship and finished 26th in the nation after being ranked in the NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll most of the season. Harvey earned All-American honors for the second straight season in cross country along with being the Heartland Conference individual champion and Runner of the Year for the third season.

Later during the 2017-18 season, RSU added its first-ever All-American in indoor track & field when Ricky Bell placed eighth in the 60 meters at the 2018 NCAA Indoor Championships. During the 2018 Great American Conference Championships, the Hillcats added three more conference championships, while Baylor Harvey and Hailey Gillispie were named CoSIDA Academic All-Americans.

Overall, McCormick has coached 12 All-Americans, four conference runners of the year, three conference freshman of the year, 147 all-conference athletes (29 cross country/118 track & field), 10 all-region track performers and 18 athletes of the week.

McCrormick's teams have also succeeded in the classroom, as under his guidance Hillcats have garnered three Academic All-American honors, 14 academic all-district and scholar-athlete honors and six team academic national honors.
 
He guided the Hillcat women to second and the men to a third-place finish in their first chance to compete at the Heartland Conference Championship in 2014. Led by individual champion and Heartland Conference Runner of the Year, Baylor Harvey, the RSU men crowned its first-ever conference champion under McCormick's direction in 2014.
 
McCormick and the RSU women had their first individual conference champion at the 2011 Sooner Athletic Conference meet as Brenda Felipe won the race earning a spot to represent the Hillcats at the NAIA National Cross Country Championships in Vancouver, Washington. She went on to finish 53rd of 323 competitors.
 
During the program's first year in 2010, McCormick led the Hillcats to a sixth-place finish at the Sooner Athletic Conference meet and a seventh-place result for the women. He had one runner, Caleb Clark, qualify for, and compete, in the NAIA National Championships, where he placed 103rd of 326 runners.
 
Before coming to RSU, McCormick served as the assistant men’s and women’s cross country coach at his alma mater, East Central University. He helped the Tigers to a second-place finish in the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference in 2003. McCormick coached four all-conference runners and one All-American at ECU. He spent five years working for Farmers Insurance before getting back into coaching on the Hill.
 
McCormick earned a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Education from ECU and was a member of the Tigers' track and field program. He twice competed in the NAIA Track and Field National Championships, placing 8th and 12th in the marathon.

Chris and his wife Nicole have two daughters, Cleary and Alby.