Mike Nelson Hometown: Fenton, Mo. Last College: Truman State (2003) Position: Head Coach Experience: Sixth Season

Mike Nelson enters his sixth season as the head cross country coach and assistant track and field coach in 2012-13.

He has guided the cross country team since his arrival in August 2007 and overseen multiple Marquette record holders on the track, in addition to four freshman marks. Five of his student-athletes have earned All-Great Lakes Regional recognition.

Under Nelson's guidance and dedication, Marquette hosted its first cross country championship in 2009 since 1996 at the Wayne E. Dannehl National Cross Country Course on Oct. 31. The Marquette men finished seventh, while the women placed eighth. Nelson played a lead role in getting the BIG EAST to award Marquette the 2009 BIG EAST Championships.

Academically, four student-athletes have earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors five times, while both Peter Bolgert and Olivia Johnson earned first team honors in 2010-11. It was the first time athletes at Marquette had earned Academic All-America first team honors in any sport since 1996-97.

In 2008, Nelson helped senior captain Kyle Saginus become the first Marquette male runner to earn All-BIG EAST accolades in cross country after his 12th-place finish at the 2008 BIG EAST Championships. Saginus also just barely missed qualifying for the NCAA Championships after a 15th-place finish at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional.

At the Great Lakes Regional, Nelson helped the women finish seventh, while the men placed 16th. Leading the women at the Regional was junior Anna Weber who finished 25th overall in 21:57.7. Saginus and Weber were both named to the All-Great Lakes Regional Team.

On the track, Nelson oversaw cross country captain Jayne Grebinski's transformation into one of the best steeplechase runners in Marquette history in 2008. Grebinski, who stands 5-foot-2, is the school's record holder in the 5,000-meter run, but Nelson's mentoring helped the distance runner make the most of her athletic ability. Grebinski recorded the second-best time in school history in the steeplechase with a top time of 10:34.15 at Arkansas' John McDonnell Invitational.

Nelson has worked with NCAA West Preliminary Round participants Grebinski (2010), Bolgert (2010), Blake Johnson (2010 and 2011), Olivia Johnson (2010) and Nick Szcech (2010 and 2011). He also helped Grebinski (2008 and 2009) and Cassie Peller (2008) reach the Mid-East Regional.

The Fenton, Mo., native has also worked with seven USATF Junior National qualifiers and three individuals who earned All-American status at those championships.

With young rosters in his first season as cross country coach, both Marquette men's and women's cross country squads placed seventh in the BIG EAST Championships. In the 2007 NCAA Great Lakes Regional, the men took eighth place, while the women placed fourth. As assistant track coach, Nelson helps guide the distance runners, including Jayne Grebinski who claimed the best time in Marquette history in the 5,000 meters with a time of 16:45.96 in 2008.

Nelson spent two years at Saint Louis University where he was hired as the head cross country coach in 2005, and then founded the track and field program at SLU in the Spring of 2006. The Billikens encountered immediate success in both competition and the classroom, competing in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Before arriving at SLU, Nelson spent two years as a graduate assistant for the Emporia State University cross country and track and field teams. He also worked with ESU's distance runners on the track and field team and served as the recruiting coordinator for the squads. Nelson helped lead the Emporia State men to a second place finish at the 2004 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Cross Country Championships. His student-athletes won the men's 5,000 meter and 10,000 meter runs at the 2005 MIAA Outdoor Championships as ESU finished second in the team standings. Nelson coached women's school-record holders in the distance medley relay, the indoor 1,000 meter and a national qualifier in the 1,500 meter.

A 2003 graduate of Truman State University, Nelson was a four-time All-MIAA performer for the Bulldogs. He competed in the NCAA Division II cross country national championships as a junior and senior, and led his team to two top-10 finishes at the national meet. Nelson graduated cum laude from TSU with a degree in exercise science. He earned his master's degree in physical education from Emporia State in 2005.

Nelson has his USA Track & Field Level I and II (endurance) Certicfication and earned his endurance specialist certification in July 2011.