Former Linn-Mar Star Returns to Drake as Head Coach

Sam Read will be the new head coach of Drake cross country, track and field

Sam Read has been hired as the new track and field and cross country coach at Drake University. / Drake University

Former Linn-Mar High School standout Sam Read is returning to Iowa as the new head cross country and track and field head coach at Drake University.

The school hosts the annual Drake Relays, a multi-day track and field event that brings in Olympians, college and high school athletes from around the world.

Read most recently served as the head cross country and distance coach at Eastern Washington for the past seven years. The team was a contender in the Big Sky Conference under Read, as he also coached five school records in track with a handful of NCAA West Regional qualifiers.

“I am truly honored to accept the opportunity to lead the men’s and women’s cross country and track and field programs at Drake University,” Read said. “Having grown up competing in  Iowa experiencing the Drake Relays, I understand the pride and tradition these programs carry, and I look forward to building upon that legacy.”

Sam Read ran at Drake as a prep, competed for Wartburg in college

Read coached at Montana State as an assistant for a number of years after competing for Linn-Mar and attending Wartburg College in Iowa. He ran at the Drake Relays as a high school athlete and was an Iowa Conference champion at Wartburg in the 10k while qualifying for the national meet. 

“I am thrilled to welcome Sam into our athletics department and excited for his leadership of our cross country and track and field programs,” Drake Director of Athletics Brian Hardin said. “His track record at Eastern Washington was remarkable. Sam’s vision for how he would leverage the greater support available at Drake to contend for Missouri Valley Conference titles was convincing.

“Even more impressive was his ability to see the Drake program for not only what it is today, but what it can be in a short period of time.”

Read replaces Jay Koloseus, who took an assistant track and field position at Arizona earlier this summer after eight years at Drake in a variety of positions.

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