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One of America's top distance runners in the mid-1980s, Annie Schweitzer Bennett enters her sixth season as the head coach of the Wake Forest University cross country team. Bennett, who served as the head women's track & field coach at Wake Forest for two years, became the Director of Wake Forest Track & Field following the 2001 season when the men's and women's programs merged. In November of 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 in 2003 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 Demon Deacon Cross Country. The men finished fifth at the ACC Championships and Sean Stevens was an individual qualifier for the NCAA Championships. The women came in third at the ACC Championship, followed by a ninth place finish at the NCAA Regionals and a 21st place spot at the NCAA Championships. In 2002, 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. 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 Regional in Greenville, NC. The Deacons placed ninth in their first ever trip to the NCAA Championships since the program originated in 1978. Bennett saw three of her student-athletes receive Academic All-America honors, including Anne 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 NCAA Regionals and saw true freshman Bersagel automatically qualify individually for the NCAA Championships. 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 DMR 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. Bennett's top pupil, Sara Day, followed up a runner-up finish at the ACC Cross Country Championships with three All-American honors on the track, including a runner-up finish in the 10,000m. In her first season at the helm of the Demon Deacons, Bennett coached the cross country squad to a fourth place finish at the ACC Championships and saw four different people earn all-conference honors, as well as Janelle Kraus and Jill Snyder earn All-American honors in both indoors and outdoors. 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 will coach the U.S. Senior Women's Cross Country team while they compete in France. 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 from 1992 through 1994. 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 earned a master 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.
Send an E-mail to Coach Bennett: bennetas@wfu.edu |
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