MOUNT OLIVE – With nearly 30 years of experience in collegiate coaching, Bryan Hagopian was recently announced as the head coach for the University of Mount Olive cross-country programs, while also serving as an assistant coach for the track & field teams.
Hagopian recently completed his 16th year as the head cross country and track & field coach at Nova Southeastern University.
During his tenure with the Sharks, he was a four-time Coach of the Year recipient (2014, 2017 women’s track & field, 2016 men’s track & field, and 2012 men’s cross country), while also garnering South Region Coach of the Year in 2012 with the men’s cross country program. Hagopian also led his program to the 2017 Peach Belt Conference (PBC) Women’s Track & Field Champions and the 2012 Sunshine State Conference (SSC) Men’s Cross Country Championship.
Additionally in 2012, the Sharks won the South Regional title in men’s cross country. Hagopian has coached nearly 15 All-Americans and over 40 individual champions as the head coach at Nova Southeastern.
“I would to thank the Director of Athletics Joey Higginbotham and the Director of Track & Field programs Earl Graves, for providing me an opportunity to become the Head Cross Country/Assistant Track & Field Coach at the University of Mount Olive,” said Hagopian. “As someone with experience in NCAA Division II, I know what it takes to get back on top and with the support of the Mount Olive Athletic Department, we can get back on the top again. We might be behind the eight ball a little bit, but with the practices we have and the determination this team has, I think we can do some great things this season. I’m looking forward to returning cross country championships to Mount Olive as the Track & Field team has done.”
The 2017 track season became one of the most successful campaigns for Hagopian and his coaching staff gathering 16 national qualifiers, four participants, two All-Americans, a PBC Championship, Women’s Track & Field Coach of the Year, and a PBC Men’s Field Athlete of the Year. With 11 individual champions, the women’s team won the program’s first-ever PBC Championship with a championship record of 214.5 points, while the men’s side garnered four champions and claimed second.
The Sharks broke 13 school records including four of the oldest marks in the program, while setting four conference records and one all-time Peach Belt record. The Sharks also collected 15 PBC Athlete of the Week honors. At the end of the year, the Sharks had 16 All-Region honorees in 33 events, while senior Shakira Bartley led the nation with six accolades.
Bartley also became the first automatic qualifier, South Region Field Athlete of the Year, and an All-American in a field event in program history with a third-place finish in the triple jump at the national championship.
The 2015 cross country season saw the women’s 6k and men’s 10k records broken, while the men qualified for the national championship. On the women’s side, Anabel Knoll broke the school’s 6k record, received SSC Freshman of the Year, and all-region recognition.
The 2016 track season experienced just as much success as the previous year as the Sharks set 13 records and garnered six PBC weekly honors. Both teams claimed second at the PBC Championships for the second straight season and had seven individual champions. The Sharks also broke four PBC Championship records and earned 23 all-region honors.
During the 2014-15 track season, the Sharks broke 13 school records and earned multiple PBC Athlete of the Week awards. Both the men’s and women’s programs finished second in the PBC Championship, picking up eight individual championships in the process. Hagopian also received his first top-three national finisher when Sherrelle Jordan placed third in the 100-meter hurdles at the National Championship.
The 2013-14 athletic year proved to be another benchmark year for Hagopian’s programs. All four sports under the head coach claimed top-5 finishes at their respective conference championships, with Alexandria Palm winning her second SSC Championship individual title. Both the women’s and men’s programs were represented at the NCAA Cross Country National Championship. In track and field, the Sharks once again combined for a pair of top-3 finishes at the PBC Championships.
The Sharks secured multiple individual titles and set up several individual appearances at the NCAA National Championship. Nationals was highlighted by Ryan Jerothe’s All-American performance in the pole vault.
During the 2012-13 season, the men’s cross country team won the SSC title. The Shark men went on to continue their success by winning its first-ever South Regional Championship. The women took second at the SSC championships.
Hagopian led Palm to first place in the SSC Championship, the first female to accomplish the feat at Nova Southeastern. The women’s program went on to take third at the South Regional Championship. The men came in 32nd place and the women finished 29th at the NCAA Championships in Joplin, Missouri.
In the track and field season, Hagopian has helped the team accumulate five NCAA national representatives, six conference champions, two Peach Belt Athlete of The Year awards, and 16 personal records. He provided coaching to Peri Bowman, who was named Co-Athlete of the Year, and Darren Hendricks, the Freshman Athlete of The Year.
In addition, he also helped guide the men’s and women’s teams to a second and third-place finishes in their first PBC Championship.
Following his unprecedented inaugural season as head coach in 2009, Hagopian came into his second year with high expectations of both cross country and track and field teams. He found it when Carlyle Thompson became the program’s first first-ever All-American for Track & Field.
During his first season with the Sharks, Hagopian coached both programs to multiple records during both the cross country and track and field seasons. On the women’s side, Krystal Porter and Brooke Hurley became the first runners in women’s cross country history to run sub 19:00 in the 5K. During the track season, records were set in 10 events as well as in three field events as the Sharks competed in field events for the first time since the track and field program began in 2006. Most notable for NSU’s women’s team for the track and field season was Kyley Jorgensen, a freshman who provisionally qualified for the NCAA Division II National Championships in the 100 meters.
On the men’s side, both Jeff Palmer and Eskender Abdalla recorded cross country’s first-ever sub-26:00 8K times. Palmer ultimately ran NSU records in the 8K and 10K with his 32:25 in the 10K at the Division II South Regional Championships, nearly two minutes faster than anyone else on NSU’s all-time top 10K times. In track & field, the program had multiple and individual best performances. Michael Wilson became the first athlete in program history to provisionally qualify for the NCAA Division II National Championships in two events. Wilson, who provisionally qualified in the 200 meters in 2008, met the provisional times in the 100 and 200 meters.
“We’re excited to have Coach Hagopian join our staff. He brings a wealth of experience in a lot of event areas including distance,” said Graves. “His passion for the sport was evident throughout the hiring process and he will be a great asset as we continue to grow our program.”
Hagopian served one year at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette as the assistant men’s and women’s track and field coach for the NCAA Division I institution, working directly with the pole vaulters and throws group. He coached a regional qualifier and eight All-Conference selections in the Sun Belt.
From 2004-2006, Hagopian was the head men’s and women’s cross-country/track & field coach for the College of Mount Saint Joseph, an NCAA Division III institution, in Cincinnati, Ohio. He founded the inaugural men’s and women’s track and field teams for the Lions, while the cross country team garnered All-Region honors.
Hagopian was the assistant men’s and women’s cross-country/track and field coach for Upper Iowa University, a Division II institution, from 2002-2003, where the Peacocks cross country teams earned All-Conference and All-Region accolades.
He began his collegiate head coaching career at Mount Senario College (NAIA) in Ladysmith, Wisconsin. He founded the first-ever cross country team for the Fighting Saints and coached three National qualifiers in Track and Field from 1999-2001.
Hagopian earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Physical Education and Coaching from Hastings College in Nebraska before receiving a Master of Science Degree in Athletic Administration from Minnesota State University-Mankato.
