Gray Named Spalding Cross Country Head Coach

Spalding Athletics Director Brian Clinard has announced the hiring of Stephen Gray as the new head coach of the Golden Eagle cross country and track & field programs. 

Gray arrives after serving as a throws coach at Brescia University. He previously spent three years as a graduate assistant coach at Thomas More University. Gray holds a USA Track & Field Level 1 certification.

"We are excited to bring Coach Gray on board," said AD Clinard. "It was evident throughout the process that he was highly passionate about the growth and development of our student-athletes. He is excited about building a program in his hometown and at Spalding.

"His background is very transferable to Spalding. He has a wealth of experience at the small college level in this region as both a coach and student-athlete."

At Brescia, Gray saw four school records broken by his throwers and 13 top five performances in program history notched. He coached three all-conference honorees for the Bearcats. Gray also succeeded as a coach at Thomas More, where nine throwing records were broken during his time there. The Saints had three Mid-South Conference champions, four all-conference honorees, and eight all-academic conference awardees in Gray's time at TMU.

"It is an absolute privilege and a blessing to be here at Spalding leading the charge for cross country and track and field!" Gray said. "A dream of mine has always been to lead a team, and I could not have asked for anything better than to get that opportunity here in my hometown! I want to thank my fiance for always having my back and everybody involved in the hiring process for helping make this dream a reality! Now it is time to get to work! Go Golden Eagles!"  

The Louisville, Kentucky, native earned a bachelor's in physical education and health, with a minor in human performance, from Union College (Ky.). At Union, he was a two-time Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) track & field champion, with wins in both the hammer and shot. Gray was named the AAC Athlete of the Year in 2017 and was made the AAC all-conference team 11 times.

Gray is engaged to Hannah Geist, and resides in Louisville.

STORY COURTESY OF SPALDING UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION