Mark Phillips begins his seventh year at Cowley. Last season
he guided the Tiger men’s team to its third straight indoor and
outdoor conference titles.
In 2008, Phillips led Cowley’s men’s team to its first ever
Jayhawk East Conference Triple Crown winning championships in indoor
track, outdoor track and cross country.
In Phillips time at Cowley, he has led the Tigers to 16 Jayhawk Conference
titles, six Region VI titles, and nine top-five finishes at the NJCAA
National Championships.
Prior to coming to Cowley, he spent 12 years at Johnson County Community
College, including four years as head coach.
Along with leading the Tiger men to three straight outdoor conference
titles and four straight Jayhawk East indoor championships, he has helped
the Lady Tiger track and field team win two of the past three outdoor
conference titles.
During his tenure at Johnson, Phillips played a key role in a lengthy
list of cross country and track team accomplishments. Phillips helped
the Cavaliers:
- To National Junior College Athletic Association national
championships in the women's marathon and women's cross country.
- Win 15 top-five NJCAA team trophies at national competitions.
- To 48 cross country, indoor and outdoor track teams
to top-10 national finishes.
Capture the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division team title 49 times
and the Region VI team crown 11 times.
- To five conference triple crowns each for men and women
during his tenure.
- In all, Phillips coached 273 All-Americans, nine NJCAA
national champions, three NJCAA record holders, and one Olympic Festival
gold medallist.
Prior to coming to Johnson County, Phillips coached
pole vault, long jump, triple jump, heptathlon and decathlon at Northwest
Missouri State University in 1985 and 1986. He coached jumps,
sprints, heptathlon and decathlon as an assistant at Cloud County
Community College in 1988 and 1989, where he coached five All-Americans.
From the fall of 1989 to the spring of 1991, he was the head cross
country and track and field coach at Kansas City Community College,
where he turned the program into a national contender in the sprints,
coaching 34 All-Americans.
The Northwest Missouri State graduate also saw his share of success as
a collegiate student-athlete. He was a pole vaulter/sprinter at Cloud County
and Northwest. At Cloud, Phillips was a Region VI champion and a two-time
national qualifier in the pole vault. At Northwest, he set school and
Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association records while winning three
conference championships in the pole vault and as a member of a school
record and National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II national
qualifying 4x100-meter relay team. He was a member of the 1982 MIAA conference
championship team and qualified for two NCAA Division II national meets
in the pole vault.
Phillips received a bachelor’s degree in physical education from
Northwest in 1984. He earned his master’s degree in education from
University of Berkley-Michigan in 2001. He is USA Track and Field certified
Level 1 coaching and Level 2 Jumps.
He and his wife Naomi have three children: Katie 18, Josh 17 and Justin
10.
Coach Phillips can be reached at (620) 442-1594 or by e-mail: phillips@cowley.edu

Vince DeGrado begins his third season as assistant track
coach at Cowley College. DeGrado recently completed his second season
as the Tigers’ head cross country coach and coaches the distance
and middle distance runners during the track season.
He was named the Region VI Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year
after he helped the Tiger cross country team capture its first ever Region
VI Championship during the 2007 season. He was also named the Region
VI Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year this past season as
he guided the Lady Tigers to their first ever region title.
Prior to coming to Cowley, DeGrado served as the Head Cross Country and
Track coach at Allen County Community College in Iola, KS for two full
seasons.
In March of 2005 DeGrado was hired at 23 as the Head Coach at Allen County
and inherited a diminishing program. It did not take long for DeGrado
to make his presence felt. In the two full seasons he coached,
DeGrado rewrote the record book with 22 broken/tied school records. He
coached 9 All-Americans, and 31 National meet Qualifiers, and every single
once of his athletes improved their times. During his 2006 season,
his first recruiting class in Cross Country has proven to be a successful
one. The ACCC Harriers were ranked in the top 25 for the first time in
almost 10 years. Finishing the season 22nd, while placing 3rd as team
in the conference meet. For his Women's team they finished third in the
conference meet and qualified three for Nationals.
DeGrado grew up in Mayetta, KS, graduating from Royal Valley High School. He
completed his Bachelor of Science in Health and Physical Education with
a minor in Psychology at Southwestern College in 2004. He graduated from
Emporia State University with his Master's Degree of Science in Health,
Physical Education, and Recreation. He is USA-TF Level 1 certified, as
well as Level 2 certified in Endurance.
As an athlete, DeGrado was an All-State medalist in Cross Country. He
started his college career at Coffeyville Community College where he
was an Academic All-American, and he was a two-time National Qualifier
while competing in cross-country and track. Vince continued his running
career at Southwestern College where he ran under the legendary Hall
of Fame coach Jim Helmer and became a two-time All-American in the 4
x 800m and Distance Medley Relay. He was a five-time All-KCAC runner,
winning the 4 x 800m relay twice, as well as a seven-time National Qualifier.
He and his wife Martha have two children: Natalie 8, and Braiden 7.
DeGrado can be reached at (620) 442-2056 or at degradov@cowley.edu.
After finishing up a stellar collegiate career, former Lady Tiger Courtney
Gougler returns to the Cowley College track and field team as a throws
coach.
Gougler, who still holds the school record in the hammer throw (149-2),
was a two-time national champion in her one year at Cowley as she was
the indoor national champion in the shot put and outdoor national champion
in the discus.
After one season at Cowley, Gougler transferred to the University of
Wyoming, where she was named the Mountain West Conference Athlete of
the Week as a junior, and placed third in the conference in the indoor
weight throw.
Gougler competed two seasons at Wyoming before spending her final season
at Oklahoma State University. At OSU, Gougler competed in the shot put,
discus, hammer and weight throw.
Gougler can be reached at 620-442-1594 or at cjgougler@yahoo.com
|