2011-12 marks Paul Spangler's 10th season as the Head Cross Country/Assistant Track & Field Coach at VMI.
The 2009 Big South Women's XC Coach of the Year, Spangler has led the Keydet cross country programs to their best efforts in recent memory. He has coached two team runner-up squads, including the 2009 women's team, a performance that marked that squad's best finish ever. The men's team has seen its first two regional rankings under his tutelage (2005 and 2009), and the Keydet women have won three straight Big South Freshman of the Year honors, a run continued by Emily Dinning this past October. The women's XC team has also been honored with USTFCCCA All-Academic honors each of the past two seasons.
For all his influence in cross country, Spangler has also been very important to the track and field program. He has coached 70 All-Big South performers, between his XC and track efforts, as well as 64 IC4A/ECAC qualifiers and 20 All-IC4A performers. 15 Big South champions have been tutored by Spangler, as well as three Big South Athletes of the Year, Donnie Cowart (2009), Hannah Granger (2009) and Felix Kitur (2011). He has been a part of five runner-up efforts at the Big South's conference meets, with four coming indoor and one (2009) occurring outdoors.
Spangler has also seen four NCAA qualifiers in his time at VMI, as Cowart accomplished the feat in 2009, when he earned All-American honors in the steeplechase, and Kitur has done so three times, the most recent after the 2011 season. Cowart went on to qualify for two USATF Championships, and recently competed in the Pan-American Games in Mexico City, finishing just out of the medals in fourth place.
This past track season, Kitur once again advanced to the NCAA Championships, while freshman Cabell Willis qualified for the USATF Junior National Championships. Perhaps most notably, however, was the job Spangler's pupils did at the IC4A Indoor Championships, particularly in the 4X800-meter relay. There, the squad of Jacob Lysher, Dean Gonsalves, Kitur and Dmitriev combined for a 7:24.70 clocking to not only win the IC4A title, but claim the top time in the world during the indoor season.
During Spangler's time in Lexington, his teams have broken 21 distance records (track/XC), and his athletes have earned five Big South Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year Awards. He has coached four NCAA Regional qualifiers, the women's cross country program's first conference runner and freshman of the year (both coming in 2009) and even a Rhodes Scholarship recipient.
Spangler is a 1998 graduate of the University of Alabama with a BS in Education. Spangler was a 1996 and 1997 NCAA qualifier in cross country and made the All-Southeastern Conference team in his senior year at the University of Alabama.
He later went on to receive a master’s degree from Florida State University in Sports Administration and coached the Seminoles cross country and track & field programs.
During his time at Florida State, he helped to develop 13 NCAA All-South Region performers, had three NCAA individual qualifiers in cross country, ten All-ACC track and field athletes, and two athletes qualify to the World Junior Track and Field Championships. He also coached a pair of distance All-Americans.
Spangler and his wife Cynthia were married in June 2002. The couple and their son, Preston, reside in Lexington.
Florida State Accomplishments:
2000 Atlantic Coast Conference Outdoor Track and Field Women’s Team Champions
2002 Atlantic Coast Conference Outdoor Track and Field Men’s Team Champions
2001 NCAA Women’s Cross Country national qualifying team
5 USA Junior National Track and Field distance qualifiers
2 World Junior Track and Field distance qualifiers
13 NCAA All-Region Cross Country performers
3 All-Atlantic Coast Conference Cross Country performers
1 Atlantic Coast Conference Cross Country Female Freshmen of the Year
3 NCAA Individual Cross Country qualifiers
3 Time All-Academic Team with distinction (Men’s 2001, #2 NCAA Ranked)
Established 4 new school distance and mid-distance records
2 NCAA Track and Field distance All-Americans
The Virginia Military Institute Accomplishments:
2009 Big South Conference Coach of the Year (Women’s Cross Country)
4 NCAA Regional Track & Field Distance Qualifiers
4 NCAA National Championship Qualifiers
1 NCAA All-American. Donnie Cowart 8:44.66 Steeplechase
1 NCAA All-American Honorable Mention. Felix Kitur 1:48 800m
#1 U.S. and World ranked men’s 2011 indoor 4x800m relay. 7:24.70
VMI’s first NCAA regional ranking (Men’s Cross Country-Top 15)
2 Runner-up team finishes at Big South Cross Country Championships (Men 2005, Women 2009)
4 Runner-up team finishes at the Big South Track & Field Indoor Championships (Men 2004, 2005, 2009, 2011)
1 Runner-up team finish at the Big South Outdoor Championships (2009)
4 All-IC4A Relay Teams (07-3rd & 08-2nd Distance Medley Relay, 08 & 11 4x800m champions)
20 All-IC4A Performers (Top 3)
21 distance school records
70 All-Big South Cross Country/ Track and Field-distance performers
64 IC4A/ECAC Championship distance/mid-distance qualifiers
15 Big South Conference Individual champions (Cross Country & Track-Distance)
2 USA Track & Field National Championship qualifiers
2 USA Junior National Championship qualifiers
3 Big South Athletes of the Year (Donnie Cowart-2009, Hannah Granger-2009, Felix Kitur-2011)
3 Big South Cross Country Freshmen of the Year (Jenna Moye-2009, Tammy Cheung-2010, Emily Dinning-2011)
2 NCAA Division I All-Academic Team (2009 & 2010 Women’s Cross Country)
Director for the following events:
Florida Intercollegiate Cross Country Championships (99-01)
Seminole High School Cross Country Invitational (99-01)
FACA High School Senior All-Star Cross Country Championships (01)
2005 Big South Cross Country Championships (05)
VMI High School Indoor Track & Field Invitational (05-08)
Military Track and Field Championships (07,10)
USA Track and Field Official Clinic-Virginia Chapter (07-08)
2005 & 2011 Big South Outdoor Track and Field Championships
VMI Classic High School Outdoor Track and Field Invitational (03-11)
Coordination of fund raising effort for both charity and team revenue purposes which include the Across the State Relay in Florida and the Blue Ridge Relay in Virginia.
Member of three-coach panel who votes for Big South Athlete of the Week
University of Alabama Athletic Accomplishments:
All-SEC Individual Cross Country Selection (14th place-97)
All-NCAA South Region Cross Country Selection (6th place-97)
Competed in two NCAA Cross Country Championships (96 & 97)
