 Matt Roe |
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Seasons at Butler:
Third Season
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Position:
Head Coach
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On July 19, 2007 Matt Roe was hired to direct Butler’s
Track and Field/Cross Country programs. Roe, who had built his
coaching resume on quickly developing strong distance programs at
Long Beach State (2004-2007) and Western Illinois (2001-2004), has
continued his successful run at Butler, leading the Bulldogs to
three cross country championships in two seasons!
The 2008-2009 year saw the Bulldogs several highlights on and off
the track and trail. In the classroom Butler edged Yale as the top
combined program in the nation in academics track and field. The
women ranked second in the nation in team GPA 3.547 while the men
ranked 4th in the nation with a 3.347 GPA. Senior Kent Wories
earned Academic All-American honors for the second year in a row,
while Andy Baker earned his first Academic All American
certificate. Butler’s five track and field Academic All
Americans in 2008 and 2009 ranks Butler 4th nationally among all
Division I schools over that time span.
On the track, dramatic improvements were seen from top to bottom
across the program. Notable achievements came from newcomers
Stephen Lisgo, Kris Gauson, and Joe Macdonald. The Bulldog trio
helped Butler join Stanford and Oregon as the only programs in the
country to have a male NCAA qualifier in the Steeplechase, 1500
meters, and 5000 meters.
Lisgo, who broke the Horizon League meet record a month earlier,
finished 3rd at the NCAA Championships in a school and personal
record time of 8:35.49. His finish was the best male performance in
Butler’s Division I history at the NCAA Outdoor
Championships, guiding Butler to its best finish (40th) at the NCAA
Division I Championships. Lisgo, ranked #1 in Great Britain in the
Steeplechase, would go on to represent Great Britain in the
European U23 Championships, finishing 5th in the final. Gauson,
previously injured for over two years prior to his enrollment at
Butler, set personal and school records at 800 meters (1:48.66) and
1500 meters (3:42.13). Macdonald joined Gauson under the old 1500
meter school record, winning the Georgia Tech Invitational in
personal best 3:42.63. Enroute to his NCAA 5000 meter appearance,
Macdonald also won the college/open section at the prestigious Mt.
Sac Relays in April slashing over 36 seconds off his personal best
to run 13:54.73.
The indoor year produced several outstanding performances. Ranked
among these marks were three school and two conference records.
Andy Baker ran an indoor personal best 14:00.51 to claim the Butler
5000 meter record. Kris Gauson’s 1:51.08 800 meter win at the
Horizon League Championships broke the school record and converted
to a 1:50.61 NCAA qualifying mark (unbanked 200 meter track). Joe
Macdonald broke the conference championship mark at 3000 meters
running 8:17.62. The Butler men also broke the school and
conference record in the Distance Medley Relay clocking a solo
9:53.82.
During the 2008 Cross Country campaign the men finished 29th at
NCAA Cross Country Championships with Andy Baker earning All
American honors for the second year in a row. Baker took the
individual win for the second straight year at the Horizon League
Champions leading the Butler men to a perfect score win, and was
the runner-up place showing at the Great Lakes Regional meet
leading the Bulldogs to a 3rd place team finish.
Roe’s initial campaign at Butler in 2007-2008 was a success
on the track and trail. On the track Roe’s athletes captured
11 conference titles during the indoor and outdoor campaigns. Along
the way, Genni Gardner snapped two Horizon League conference
records 5000 meters (outdoor) and indoor mile. In the post season
on the women’s side Butler was one of only seven schools
nationally to have three women in a Regional final at 5000 meters.
For the men, newcomer Andy Baker lowered his 500 meter personal
best from 2007 by nearly 40 seconds on the way to his first NCAA
Outdoor appearance. Baker’s 13:49.87 clocking at the Oregon
Relays placed him 3rd overall, and tops among all collegians.
Led by Andy Baker and Genni Gardner the men and women swept the
Horizon League Championships cross country championships in 2007.
On the heels of his first individual conference title, Baker used
his momentum to place 3rd at the Great Lakes Regional
Championships, earning an individual berth to the NCAA
Championships. Baker capped his stellar season by earning
All-American honors at NCAA’s, placing 28th overall. Two
weeks after his NCAA success, Baker helped Great Britain win the
European U23 Cross Country title, placing 12th overall. Gardner
enjoyed the best cross country season of her career. On the way to
her first ever individual NCAA Cross Country Championships
appearance, Gardner charted career best finishes at the Great Lakes
Regional (9th) and Horizon League Championships (2nd).
Gardner’s improved regional performance (26th in 2006) lead
the women to a 5th place finish, tops among all Indiana
schools.
In just two years Roe, a two time Horizon League Coach of the year,
has produced 63 All-Horizon League performers, 21 Horizon League
individual and relay titles, 11 MidEast Regional Track qualifiers,
seven school records on the track, six NCAA individual qualifiers,
six All Great Lakes Region cross country runners, six Horizon
League meet records, five Academic All-Americans, five Horizon
League Athletes of the Year, three All-Americans, three Horizon
League team titles, two international team selections, one NCAA
team appearance, and one Horizon League Newcomer of the year
award.
Prior to taking the reigns at Butler Roe engineered one of the most
dramatic recent turnarounds in Division I distance running at Long
Beach State from 2004-2007. Roe’s accomplishments were
acknowledged by his peers as they voted him to be the Men’s
West Regional Cross Country Representative for the U.S. Track and
Field/Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for
2007-2009.
With their finishes at the Big West Conference meet and the NCAA
West Regional meet, the 2006 cross country squads completed the
best two-year post-season run in school history. The women’s
team jumped to second at the Big West Conference meet, tying the
1989 squad for the best women’s finish in school history. The
men, who were picked to finish fifth after losing their top two
runners to graduation, placed fourth. At the 2006 West Regional
meet, both squads finished 12th overall.
In 2005 both cross country teams leapt from 6th to 3rd at the Big
West Conference meet, marking the best 49er performance in 17
years. At the West Regional meet the women vaulted from 20th in
2004 to 10th in 2005, just 21 points shy of a 7th place finish. The
men climbed from 15th to 10th place in 2005 matching the
women’s team finish. Aside from re-writing their own record
books, Roe’s squads combined conference and regional team
improvements were unmatched by any competitive Division I school in
the country from 2004-2005.
On the track the 49’ers were equally successful. In 2007
Roe’s runners continued to reach new heights, snapping five
school records while further dominating the school’s all-time
lists. Senior Jim Grabow completed his storied career becoming the
first Long Beach State athlete to earn All-American honors in a
running event at the NCAA Indoor National Championships, finishing
11th in the 5000 meters. Grabow, a 14:50 5000 meter junior college
transfer in 2004, clocked personal bests of 13:44.04 in the 5000
meters and 7:59.40 at 3000 meters in his final season under
Roe’s guidance. Grabow finished 2007 as the 6th fastest
American indoors over 5000 meters. Other top marks included Alex
Freitas freshman school record at 800 meters. Freitas’s
1:50.05 clocking was fourth fastest among all Division I freshman
in 2007.
After re-writing the Long Beach’s indoor school record list
in the winter, Roe’s runners had a historic outdoor year in
2006. Roe’s men played a vital role in the first 49er
men’s conference title in 30 years. The men tallied 34 points
at the conference meet, the most ever by a 49er distance squad at
the Big West meet. Mario Cobian became the first 49er distance
runner in six years to win a conference title. Not to be outdone,
the women recorded 33 points at the Big West meet, also an all-time
49er distance best. The women’s distance contribution helped
guide the team to a 3rd place finish and the best two-year
conference run in school history.
At LBSU Roe’s athletes did more than just improve they did so
at impressive rates. In less than three years Roe’s runners
recorded 51 all-time top 10 marks, 14 All Big-West selections, 12
school records, four NCAA National Qualifying marks, a Big West
Conference Champion, one All-American and one Academic All-American
selection.
Prior to his appointment at The Beach, Roe made Western Illinois
one of the most improved Division I programs in the nation from
2001-2004. In three years at the helm of the Western distance
program, Roe produced 24 All-Mid Continent athletes, nine runner-up
conference finishers, three conference champions, two school
records, and two All-American with Distinction Academic Teams.
As the Head Cross Country Coach at Western, Roe led both the
men’s and women’ program from the bottom to near the
top of the Mid-Continent Conference. In only his second season,
Roe’s women went from sixth to second in the Mid-Continent
Conference Cross Country Championships, establishing one of the top
one-year turnarounds in Division I from 2001-2002. The
women’s finish was best in school history. Roe’s men
also improved dramatically at the conference meet jumping from
seventh in 2001 to fourth in 2002 to 3rd in 2003.
As assistant track coach at Western, in his first year (2002) Roe
helped lead the Leathernecks to the Mid-Continent Outdoor Track
title, coaching Zach Somers to Western’s first individual
distance title in a decade. Somers became the first freshman in
school history to win a conference distance crown. At the 2003
Mid-Con Championships, Roe’s athletes exploded for a school
record 98 points, tallying 13 career bests, nine all-conference
honors, five runner-up finishes, two conference titles and two
Mid-East Regional berths. The combined effort stood in stark
contrast to the 27 total points produced in the year prior to
Roe’s arrival.
Prior to coaching at Western Illinois, Roe served as an assistant
track and cross country coach at the University of Montana from
1999-2001. At Montana, Roe helped guide the Grizzlies to 11
individual Big Sky titles, eight NCAA appearances, and two
All-American honors. Roe assisted the 2000 Lady Grizzlies to their
best all-time Big Sky (second) and Mountain Regional (fifth) cross
country finishes. The 2000 season was capped off by Sabrina
Monro’s runner-up finish at the NCAA Cross Country
Championships.
A standout on the track and trail for Division I national distance
power University of Portland, Roe was a three-time All-West Coast
Conference harrier. A three-time WCC scholar-athlete, Roe earned
degrees in English (1997) and History (1998) from Portland. A USATF
Level II certified coach, Roe earned his M.S. in Physical Education
(Sport Psychology) from Western Illinois in 2003.
