Harris

Another member of Emporia State’s athletic department moved on during the off-season this summer. Former track and field head coach David Harris left for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Harris spent 19 years at Emporia State before deciding to call it quits.

“I appreciate what this university and community has done for my wife, Kathy, and me over these 19 years,” Harris said in a press release.  ”I personally have invested myself for almost two decades in running a respected program in the MIAA and NCAA Division II, and I feel good about what we have done.”

The legacy left by Harris will prove to be big shoes to fill. During almost two decades at ESU, Harris managed to be an 11-time MIAA coach of the year as well as a 2001 National coach of the year for Women’s Outdoor Track and Field. Harris also led the Women to an MIAA championship that year.

Former All-MIAA distance performer and assistant coach Eric Wellman will take over Harris’ duties as the cross country coach. Wellman will also serve as the assistant track and field coach.

“It caught me off guard,” Wellman said of Harris’ leaving. “I think we were all pretty surprised. I know that he kind of was looking for maybe one more challenge in his career. (We) definitely (weren’t) expecting it at the time that it occurred… but things opened up for him, and it was a great situation for him.”

Wellman ran for Emporia State from 2003-2008 where, among other accolades, he holds the fourth best time in ESU history in the mile run with a time of 4:08.85.

In addition, Steven Blocker will run the track and field teams. Blocker has served as an assistant coach with the Hornets since 2009 and ran for the University of Northern Iowa in college, as he was a member of three Missouri Valley Conference championship teams.

Blocker also served as an assistant coach at Santa Barbara City College in California before coming to ESU.

Senior cross country runner Asher Delmott noted Harris’ impact on the team.

“He was kind of like a father figure to the track team, just making sure that you’re always doing the right thing, whether it’s in sports or school,” Delmott said.

Despite the new faces for the track and field teams, Delmott sees the program heading in the right direction with Wellman and Blocker.

“It’s been a pretty smooth transition just because (Wellman) has been an athlete here,” Delmott said. “As a graduate assistant, and now as a coach he knows how Coach Harris did it, and so it’s just been a smooth transition.”

ESU begins their cross country season with a home event at 5 p.m. on Friday, Sep. 2. They also have a second home meet at 5 p.m. on Friday, Sep. 30.

Brandon Schneeberger

Send article as PDF to

Emporia State’s cross country teams got off to a running start last Friday when they hosted Newman in the ESU Intersquad/Open.

The women ran a 3200 meter race with a total of 16 runners competing, and started the season off on the right track as they had the top four finishers. Kathryn Davison, a senior from Topeka, won her first race with a time of 12:16.

“It felt great to just get out there and compete again,” Davison said. “Sydney (Oltjen) got her second wind, and I just tried to stick with her. With the four of us sticking together, I think that it really broke down our opponents.”

ESU had only six of the 16 runners, but five of them would crack the top 10 for the women.

Freshman runner Sydney Oltjen finished second with a time of 12:18 to start her collegiate career.

“I felt good all day, didn’t really know anything about Newman, and just wanted to run a good race,” Oltjen said.

Amy Feldkamp and Courtney Maddux rounded out the top five for the women’s team, finishing five seconds ahead of fifth place Taylor Carlson of Newman.

The ESU men also showed a strong debut in the 5K. Of the 29 runners, junior Asher Delmott led the way with a time of 15:45. The Hornets were able to place nine of the top 15 runners.

“I felt good the whole course, really pushed the pace, and my only thought was when I got to the final stretch was that the wind was going to be at my back the rest of the way,” Delmott said. “We really had some freshmen that stepped up today.”

Freshman Jacob Bull had a finishing time of 16:20 for his first collegiate meet, while William Hohmeier, Marcus Portofee and Skyler Delmott rounded out the top five with times of 16:24, 16:26 and 16:29 respectively.

Head Coach Dave Harris was very pleased out of what he saw out of both teams.

“This was a perfect way to start the season, with a low-key meet here at home to see where our runners are right now,” Harris said. “We have only been together about three weeks, and it is only going to get tougher, so we need to raise the intensity. This race was used as a measuring stick, and we really had people in both races step up.”

Chris Hopkins/The Bulletin

Send article as PDF to