Carmichael Named West Florida Cross Country Head Coach
Release courtesy of UWF Sports Information
PENSACOLA, Fla. – The University of West Florida Department of Intercollegiate Athletics is pleased to announce the hiring of UWF alumnus Caleb Carmichael as the UWF men’s and women’s cross country head coach. Carmichael, a three-time All-Gulf South Conference selection, will assume the position in his first collegiate head-coaching role.
“We’re very excited to add Caleb to our head-coaching staff at the University of West Florida,” said UWF athletic director Dave Scott. “Caleb has built a tremendous reputation not only as a student-athlete but as an assistant coach for the last three years at the University of West Florida. We are confident that Caleb will lead our cross country program to new heights in years to come.”
Carmichael will be the third head coach to oversee both the men’s and women’s cross country programs at the University of West Florida. He takes over for Dr. John Bergen, who coached both the men’s and women’s cross country teams for the last five years. As an assistant under Bergen, Carmichael helped lead the West Florida women’s cross country team to back-to-back GSC titles, and the Argos reached the NCAA Championships for the first time in program history in 2011.
“I am very excited about the opportunity to move into a head coaching role at the University of West Florida,” said Carmichael. “I have been coaching at West Florida for the last three years as an assistant under John Bergen and feel like we have a team that can do great things in the future.”
Prior to his time as an assistant coach at UWF, Carmichael competed for the Argonauts under the tutelage of former UWF head coach Matt Dobson from 2002 to 2005. In that time he had one of the most decorated careers in University of West Florida cross country history.
The Tallahassee, Fla. native is only one of three Argonauts to earn four All-GSC honors, including three first team selections. He also earned two selections to the NCAA Division II All-South Region team. Carmichael was recently honored as one of two men's cross country athletes from UWF to earn All-Decade honors by the Gulf South Conference.
Carmichael holds the school record in the 10,000 meters (32:28) and was part of the school record distance medley team. Off the course, Carmichael was named to the 2004 GSC All-Academic Team.