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One of America's top distance runners in the mid-1980s, Annie Bennett enters her 10th season as the head coach of the Wake Forest cross country team. Bennett, who served as the head women's track and field coach at Wake Forest for two years, became the director of the Wake Forest track and field program following the 2001 season when the men's and women's programs merged. In November 2003, Bennett was one of five former athletes and coaches inducted into the Women's Athletics Hall of Honor at the University of Texas. Last season, Bennett led the women's cross country team to an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Southeast Regionals, while the men's cross country team finished ninth. The Wake Forest men's and women's cross country squads also were named to the 2007 Division I U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic list, with eight individual student-athletes making the All-ACC Academic list. Bennett led the women to their seventh consecutive NCAA Championship appearance in 2006. The Deacons, who were ranked as high as No. 14 in the country, ran to a fifth-place finish at the Southeast Regionals to qualify for the NCAAs. Seniors Erin Franklin and Michelle Sikes each earned all-regional honors. The women placed 27th at the national championships, but Sikes garnered All-America honors with a 13th-place finish. Sikes was Wake's lone All-ACC representative after finishing as runner-up with a time of 20:57.1 at the conference meet. Sikes, who was also named a Rhodes Scholar, placed second at the regional meet with a time of 20:22.95. Following her graduation, Sikes competed at the World Track & Field Championships in Osaka, Japan. The men's team finished ninth at the ACC Championships and 10th at the Southeast Regionals. John Compton paced the Deacons at both the ACCs and the Regionals. In 2005, the women qualified for the NCAA Championships for the sixth consecutive year. They placed 17th with a total of 426 points. All-American Annie Bersagel was the top individual Demon Deacon with a 17th-place finish. The women reached the NCAAs after a fourth-place showing at the NCAA Southeast Regionals, where Bersagel placed fourth. The men missed out on the NCAA Championships but did place seventh at the NCAA Southeast Regionals. Sean Stevens led the Deacons with a 24th-place showing. The men's and women's programs also each earned a pair of top-five finishes at the ACC Championships. Bersagel led the women's charge to a third-place finish. This was the fourth straight year the Demon Deacons finished in the top five. She earned All-ACC honors with her fifth-place time of 19:31.9. Stevens paced the men's effort with a time of 24:17.4 and an 11th-place finish. The men placed fourth, which marked their highest showing since earning second in 2001. In 2004, Bennett led the men's team to a sixth-place showing at the ACC Championships with junior Shane Alhers placing 19th. Alhers earned All-Southeastern Region honors. On the women's side, the team captured the WFU Relays and the Iona Meet. The team also recorded a pair of fourth-place finishes at the ACC Championships and the NCAA East Regional. The team wrapped up the season with a 19th-place showing at the NCAA Championship. Hanna Bremler, Selina Sekulic and Michelle Sikes each earned All-Southeastern Region honors. Sekulic also earned All-ACC and All-America honors, and Sikes was named All-ACC. Bennett coached the ACC Female Rookie of the Year, five All-Region athletes, three All-ACC selections and an All-American, en route to another stellar season in 2003. The men finished fifth at the ACC Championships and Stevens was an individual qualifier for the NCAA Championships. The women came in third at the ACC Championship, followed by a third-place finish at the NCAA Regionals and 21st overall at the NCAA Championships. In her fourth season as head coach at Wake Forest, Bennett was named ACC Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year as the Deacons shared their first-ever ACC Championship title with NC State in 2002. Bennett led the team to five first-place and two second-place finishes on the season and received NCAA Southeast Regional Coach of the Year honors, after winning the NCAA Regionals in Greenville, N.C. The Deacons placed ninth at the NCAA Championships. Bennett saw three of her student-athletes receive Academic All-America honors, including Bersagel who was also named All-ACC, All-Region and All-America after an outstanding sophomore season. In 2001, Bennett directed a young cross country team to a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Regionals. True freshman Bersagel automatically qualified individually for the NCAA Championships under Bennett's tutelage. Bennett piloted the 2000 women's cross country team to third-place finishes at both the ACC Championships and the NCAA Regional Championships, before placing 29th at the NCAA Championships. The following spring, the distance medley relay team broke the school record, won the ACC Championship and finished fourth at the NCAA Championships. Eight Demon Deacons earned All-ACC honors, three won ACC Championships and seven All-America certificates were captured. One of Bennett's top pupils, Sara Day, followed up a second-place finish at the ACC Cross Country Championships with three All-America honors on the track, including a runner-up finish in the 10,000-meter at NCAA Championships. In her first season at the helm of the Deacons, Bennett coached the cross country squad to a fourth-place finish at the ACC Championships and saw four different athletes earn all-conference honors, as well as Janelle Kraus and Jill Snyder earn All-America honors for both the indoor and outdoor seasons. Prior to coming to Winston-Salem, Bennett was the head coach of the women's track and cross country program at Stephen F. Austin State University for five years. Bennett has also served as the head coach of the U.S. Junior Women's Cross Country team. In March 2005, Bennett coached the U.S. Senior Women's Cross Country team while they competed in France. Bennett led the team to the bronze medal. Before moving to Stephen F. Austin, Bennett spent two years as the assistant coach for the women's track and field program at the University of Texas. Her coaching stint at Texas followed a brilliant career with the Longhorns. A six-time All-American and NCAA Champion, Bennett was named to the Southwest Conference All-Decade Team for her individual and team achievements during the 1980s. A native of Baton Rouge, La., Bennett earned a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Texas in 1988 and a master's degree in interdisciplinary studies from Southwest Texas State University in 1995. Bennett resides in Winston-Salem with her husband, Mike, their daughter, Carley, and their son, Michael. |
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