Coach Earns WAC Honor

By Bryan Hinton from The Utah Stateman

 

Gregg Gensel doesn't take much credit for his success as the head coach of the Utah State cross country team.

 

He said he just does what he can to help those on his team.

 

"I'm here for the athletes," Gensel said. "Not that I don't take any credit for anything, but it's a pleasure working with them."

 

Gensel was named the Western Athletic Conference Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year on Oct. 30 after USU won the conference. It was the first WAC conference championship for USU in any sport.

 

"It was because of them," he said. "Any award I get is a result of the athletes' accomplishments. It was a culmination of a lot of things happening."

 

One of those things that happened was Trever Ball winning the WAC conference meet and being named the WAC Cross Country Athlete of the Year.

 

Gensel said it was a privilege to watch Ball commit himself to the sport this season.

 

"He became a student of distance running," he said. "He learned things and asked questions. All the knowledge he gained he applied to himself."

 

Gensel has been at USU as a coach since 1982 when he was a graduate assistant for the women's team, he said. He became the head coach of the cross country program in 1988.

 

He attended USU for his undergraduate work in teaching before he taught part-time in a school district in California.

 

"I decided I would much rather coach at this level," he said. "I had an opportunity to come back."

 

Gensel said he has thought about coaching elsewhere, but has never seriously considered it.

 

"I love Cache Valley," he said. "I met my wife here. My family is here."

 

He also said he loves Utah State.

 

"I remember when it was a lot smaller," he said. "I've seen USU grow up. There's a lot of things positive about it. Academically, it's easy to sell."

 

He is not only the head coach for the cross country program, but he is also a coach of the track team.

 

"It's all the same," he said. "It's the same kids, just different ways of running."

 

He said he likes cross country a little more because it is less demanding at events.

 

"It's a much shorter race day," he said. "For track, you could be there from the morning to five in the afternoon."

 

What he loves most about the sport, Gensel said, is that no one sits the bench.

 

"The beauty of it is you're not limited by the number of people in events," he said. "Everyone can participate."

 

Gensel said there are downsides to being a coach.

 

"The hours you put in and the travel time gets to you," he said. "It seems exotic to travel to all these places we go, but if you do it every year, it gets old."

 

But it's always worth it to see his team succeed, he said.

 

"It reminds me why I love to coach," he said. "I have to pinch myself to remind me that they're paying me for this."