Slattery to step down as cross country coach

Grand Canyon cross country head coach Sara Slattery will step down at the conclusion of the track and field season to focus on raising her family.

"This decision to step away from coaching is very difficult for me," said Slattery, who led GCU's cross country program and distance runners for seven seasons. "I love my team and truly love the athletes that I work with. Growing the distance program at GCU has been so fulfilling and rewarding. The relationships I have had with my athletes and watching them grow as athletes to becoming successful people will be something I cherish for the rest of my life."

Slattery joined GCU in 2015 to lead its cross country program. Since her arrival at GCU, every distance school record has been broken in cross country and track.

"It's with a heavy heart, but a complete understanding, that Sara is making the right decision for her family," Lopes track and field head coach Tom Flood said. "For the past seven years, Sara has been a wonderful coach, leader and mentor for our cross country and distance programs and she will be dearly missed. Under her guidance, our distance student-athletes have completely rewritten our record book and she has been an integral part of all our WAC Championship successes."

GCU will conduct a national search to find its next cross country head coach.

"GCU thanks Coach Slattery for her seven years leading our cross country program," GCU Vice President of Athletics Jamie Boggs said. "We appreciate her passion, care and genuine dedication to her student-athletes. She will always be part of our Lopes family."

Slattery and her husband Steve have two children, Steven and Cali.

"I am so grateful for the opportunity Tom Flood gave me as a young coach to help him grow the distance program and believe in me and what we were doing," Slattery said. "I am also thankful for the administration and their guidance and support as a young mother balancing both coaching and motherhood. GCU is a special place and I am so thankful I have been able to be a part of growing it."

Slattery led GCU's cross country programs to their top finishes at WAC Championships. The men are coming off of back-to-back third-place finishes at the conference championships, while the women posted their top finish in 2019 at third.

Slattery will finish out GCU's outdoor track and field season leading the Lopes' distance runners. The season gets underway on March 18 and wraps with NCAA Championships in early June.

Grand Canyon University Athletics

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