Daniel Swaney, former assistant cross country and track and field coach at Santiago Canyon College in Orange, Calif., has been named head cross country coach at Tabor College.
Swaney was an academic all-American cross country runner while attending the University of Redlands (Redlands, Calif.), where he earned two degrees: Bachelor of Arts in history (1996) and Master of Arts in Education Counseling.
While at Santiago Canyon College, Swaney helped lead track athletes, and both the men?s and women?s cross country teams to the SoCal Regionals. His duties included leading workouts for distance runners, sprinters, hurdlers, and horizontal jumpers.
?I’m very excited to be joining the Tabor community as the new Head Cross Country Coach,? he said. ?I’m looking forward to getting to know the athletes and growing the team into conference contenders.?
?I loved competing as a student-athlete and feel that coaching is the next best thing to being out there myself,? he added. ?There is no greater thrill as a coach than to see your athletes perform better than they ever have before and that’s what keeps me excited.
?I am passionate about running and being the best coach I can be. I still run and even race occasionally, so I know what it’s like to make the commitment to training properly and how tough it can be,? he said. ?I also know the satisfaction of achieving a hard-earned goal, having set personal records in the 5k, steeplechase, and marathon in the last five years.?
Tabor College Vice President of Athletics Rusty Allen said that ?Coach Swaney brings extensive experience as a distance runner and a college cross country and track coach. He has proven ability as a recruiter.?
He added: ?Most importantly, Coach Swaney embraces the mission and vision of the Tabor athletic department. He understands the importance of student-athletes earning a degree and is eager to share with his team what Christ means in his life.?
Swaney and his wife, Kimberly, have a one-year old son, Wilson. The hiring concludes a process that will allow long-time cross country coach Karol Hunt to concentrate on wearing her other hats.
?I am grateful to Tabor for giving me the opportunity to coach cross country these last 16 years,? she said. ?There is never a good time to end a coaching career because of the athletes and the relationships , but the time commitment required to have a quality program now is much greater than my early days at Tabor.
?Because of the limitation in time and energy, I have chosen to focus on my academic and athletic administration responsibilities,? she said. ?I still want to be an influence at Tabor, but it will be in a little different role.?
Allen said that her coaching work has been ?greatly appreciated.?
