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A familiar name to the Cardinal Cross Country/Track & Field team returned to Stanford University last year. Andrew Gerard, who helped mold the Cardinal into a national power during his first tenure on The Farm from 1993-96, returned to Stanford to serve as Head Men's Cross Country Coach and Assistant Track & Field Coach.
Gerard's return was a resounding success. The 2003 Stanford men's cross country team, justified the No. 1 national ranking held throughout the season with a final team score of 24 points at the NCAA Championships for a 150 point victory over runner-up Wisconsin. The 150 point margin of victory for the Cardinal was the largest in NCAA Division I history and the team score of 24 points was the second lowest in the history of the NCAA Championship meet.
Stanford placed an incredible six runners in the top-13 at the 2003 NCAA Cross Country Championships, including a runner-up performance by junior Ryan Hall. All seven Cardinal runners earned All-America accolades. The Cardinal won all eight races it entered during the 2003 season, including Pac-10 and NCAA West Regional Championship titles. Gerard was named the 2003 NCAA Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year. In March of 2004, Gerard coached redshirt freshman Forrest Tahdooahnippah to a spot on the United States team that competed at the World Junior Cross Country Championships in Brussels, Belgium.
During the 2004 outdoor track season, Ian Dobson (3000 meter steeplechase), Louis Luchini (5000 meters) and Donald Sage (1500 meters) finished in the top-4 at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships to gain All-America honors. Under the guidance of Gerard, Dobson and Luchini set school records in the 3000 meters steeplechase and the 5000 meters, respectively during the regular season. Sage finished sixth in the 1500 meters at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Sacramento, CA. Redshirt freshman Russell Brown competed in the 1500 meters at the 2004 World Junior Track and Field Championships in Grosseto, Italy.
Indoors, Gerard guided Dobson to a school record and runner-up performance in the 5000 meters at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Dobson also finished fifth in the 3000 meters, earning All-America honors in both events.
Gerard was an assistant cross country and track and field coach at Stanford from 1993-96 during which time he helped recruit such standouts as Brad and Brent Hauser, Greg Jimmerson, Nathan Nutter, Monal Chokshi, Mary Cobb, Kortney Dunscombe and Sarna Renfro. In the fall of 1996, both the men's and women's cross country teams won NCAA titles, earning Gerard a share of National Coach of the Year honors with former Cardinal coach Vin Lananna. Prior to his first stint at Stanford, Gerard was an assistant coach at Dartmouth College where he began his coaching career.
During his seven years (1997-03) at William & Mary, Gerard turned the Tribe cross country and track and field teams into one of the school's most successful athletic programs. In recognition of those successes, Gerard was named Colonial Athletic Association Cross Country Coach of the Year five times and was the 2000 Southeast Region Coach of the Year. In 2003, William & Mary captured the Colonial Athletic track and field team title, earning Gerard his first selection as conference Coach of the Year. In cross country, William & Mary finished in the Top-16 at the NCAA Championships every year, including top ten finishes in 1997 and 2000. The 2000 squad also won the Southeast Regional Cross Country title. Along the way, William & Mary won four league titles, including a 2001 title which saw the Tribe score a conference-record low 17 points.
Individually, more than 20 athletes gained All-America honors in cross country and track and field during Gerard's tenure. Gerard has produced several of the nation's finest distance runners, including Matt Lane who finished his William & Mary career with eleven All-America honors, seven school records, and the fourth fastest American collegiate 5000 meter time in history (13:25.38). Lane was the top American finisher (fourth) in the 5000 meters at the 2001 World University Games and was fourth at the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials in the 5000 meters. Lane was named the 2001 USTCA Athlete of the Year. Anders Christiansen placed second at the 1997 NCAA Championships in the 800 meters, running a 1:46.66. Lane and Christiansen were members of the United States National teams while undergraduates, with Christiansen traveling twice to Europe with the U.S. Middle Distance Development squad. At the 2003 NCAA Track and Field Championships, Ed Moran and Sean Graham finished fifth and sixth in the 5000 meters. In all, Gerard coached almost 50 All-CAA, 25 All-Region and 20 All-America selections in cross country and track at William & Mary, including a dozen school records.
Along with the numerous athletic successes on the track and cross country course, Gerard's teams have also excelled in the classroom. William & Mary cross country and track and field athletes have been named to numerous Academic All-America teams including two selections to the most recent Verizon University Division team. In addition, during his seven-year tenure, almost twenty athletes have received Academic All-America distinction from the two sports governing bodies, the USTCA and USCCCA. The Tribe cross country squad earned Academic All-America team recognition in 1997 and from 1999-2003. The 2003 William & Mary track and field team was recognized as one of the top-five NCAA Division I academic teams. Capping the success in the classroom have been numerous CAA Conference Scholar-Athlete selections and a handful of Phi Beta Kappa honorees.
A 1990 Cum Laude graduate of Colgate University with a degree in Biology and an emphasis on human physiology, Gerard was a four-year lettermen with the Red Raider cross country and track and field squads. In 1992, Gerard was ranked in the top-50 in the United States in the steeplechase. Gerard and his wife, the former Ashley Elder, reside in Mountain View.