CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M Head Track & Field Coach Matt Stewart has announced the addition of Jake Krolick to BuffNation as the new Head Cross Country Coach while also serving as a Track and Field Assistant Coach.
 
"I'm extremely pleased to have the opportunity to have Jake on our staff.  He's been a very successful coach at Texas A&M-Commerce" said Stewart "I could not have found a better coach to guide our cross country and distance programs."
 
Krolick comes to Canyon after a two-year stint at Texas A&M-Commerce where he was the assisted George Pincock with the men's & women's cross country teams as well as coaching the middle and long distance runners on the track. Krolick guided the Lions cross country programs to program best finishes as the primary coach for the teams.
 
"I am very grateful to have the opportunity to join a West Texas A&M staff which is coming off of a National Championship this past spring during the outdoor season. There are very few programs where you can be a national contender in cross country while also competing for national championships in track & field. I have come to learn first-hand coaching in the LSC the past two years that WT is one of them" said Krolick "I want to thank Matt Stewart and Michael McBroom for believing in my ability to help continue the traditions of success here at WT in both cross country and track & field. With cross country season right around the corner, I'm ready to get working to ensure the teams and the student-athletes reach the goals they have set for this fall."
 
In 2015, the women finished third at the LSC Championships led by runner-up Terra Truitt and three All-LSC performers. In 2016, the men finished runner-up tying the programs highest finish set previously in 1993. A total of seven Lions earned All-LSC performers along with an All-South Central Region performer, the first for the Lions since the LSC merged with the RMAC and Heartland Conferences in the South Central Region.
 
The Lions experienced immediate success in the LSC and at the National level with Krolick guiding the middle and long distance runners on the track. Krolick coached the 2016 NCAA II Indoor Track 800m National Champion Luis Romero contributing to an eighth place team finish at the NCAA meet. The middle and long distance runners on the men's indoor track team accounted for 79 points at the 2017 LSC championships to help the Lions earn their second LSC Championship while Krolick was on staff.
 
The success at the LSC meet along with three individual NCAA qualifiers and a distance medley relay, Krolick was named the South Central Region Men's Assistant Coach of the Year. The Lions DMR earned All-American Honors making A&M-Commerce the seventh fastest school in NCAA II history. In total, Krolick has coached seven All-Americans, 16 All-LSC performers, and six LSC Champions. The Lion men won three LSC Track & Field Championships and finished the season in the nation's top-10 three times. 
 
Krolick's teams have also found success in the classroom with both teams earning All-USTFCCCA academic honors in 2015 and 2016. Turner Pool became the first LSC athlete to be named the Academic Athlete of the Year for cross country, indoor track & field, and outdoor track & field in the same year in 2017. Terra Truitt earned the same honor in 2016 for cross country. 
 
Prior to A&M-Commerce Krolick spent a year as an assistant at Pfeiffer University as well as at Edinboro University. Krolick competed for Edinboro University while studying math education where he competed at the NCAA cross country meet three times. Krolick then competed at Adams State University while working on his Master's degree in Athletic Coaching for a year hit a provisional qualifying mark in the 10,000m. The Arcade, New York native continues to train as well and having narrowly missed qualifying for the US Olympic Marathon team trials in 2016 by 25 seconds. He resides in Canyon.