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Tom Walsh begins his 14th season as the USC women's cross country coach and the middle and long distance coach for the track & field team. In four of the last six seasons, Walsh has coached a Women of Troy runner who has qualified for the NCAA Cross Country Championships - Iryna Vashchuk (2003-04), Brooke Thomas (2002) and Sarah Ellis (2001). In 1996, Walsh coached Emebet Shiferaw to All-America honors in cross country. During his tenure, the Women of Troy middle and long distance program has consistently been one of the best in the country. In fact, no other middle-distance program in the country in the last decade, except for USC's under Walsh, has had a four-time All-American in both the 800m and 1,500m at the NCAA Championships. During the last 11 years, USC middle distance runners have captured All-American honors 21 times, including an NCAA 800m championship by four-time All-American Brigita Langerholc in 2001. Langerholc also finished a surprising fourth in the 800m at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, in a school-record time of 1:58:51. Another Walsh product was Grazyna Penc, a four-time All-American in the 1,500m. Penc finished third in 1996 and 1998, fourth in 1997 and was second in 1999 in the 1500m at the NCAAs. Shiferaw was a two-time All-American in the 3,000m in 1996-97. Her best NCAA finish was second place. Anna Lopaciuch twice earned All-American honors in the 1,500m, finishing fifth in 1998 and third in 2000. In 2002, Aleksandra Deren placed seventh in the 800m at the NCAAs. In 2004, Julia Budniak became the first Women of Troy athlete to earn All-American honors in the 3,000m steeplechase as she finished sixth in the NCAAs. Vashchuk also earned All-American honors in 2004 and 2005, as she finished sixth and seventh respectively in the 1,500m at the NCAA Championships. Walsh also worked with 1500m runner Tomasz Babiszkiewicz, a four-time Pac-10 scorer and two-time NCAA championship qualifier. Last season, Irek Sekretarski broke the USC mile record with a time of 4:01.89, a record that had stood for over 40 years. Walsh graduated from USC in 1988 and served as a graduate assistant at his alma mater for three years in the late 1980s. He also served as a track and field consultant for ABC and NBC during the 1988 and 1992 U.S. Olympic Trials. |
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