A staple of Miami's men's cross country and track and field programs, head coach Warren Mandrell is in the midst of his 19th season with the RedHawks and continues to lead a pair of teams that have been a model of consistency both athletically and academically. During a 15-year stretch from 1996 to 2010, Mandrell's cross country teams did not finish lower than fourth in the Mid-American Conference, winning a pair conference titles in 1997 and 1998. His track and field squads have produced 18 MAC gold medalists, including 13 conference titlists over the past nine seasons.

At the helm of the Miami cross country squad, Mandrell has produced three All-Americans, with David Mitchell taking home All-America honors in 2004 and Dan Huling and Chris Swisher both earning All-America plaudits in 2005. Mitchell was one of the most decorated runners during Mandrell's tenure as a two-time MAC runner-up and national qualifier in 2003 and 2004. Huling, meanwhile, became the first Miamian under Mandrell to take home the conference's individual title in 2005. He also placed 26th at the 2005 NCAA Championship, the highest finish for a RedHawk at the national meet since Bob Reef finished 17th in 1972. Pat Sovacool placed 65th at the 2008 NCAA Championship, as he competed in the race for a second straight year.

Under Mandrell, the RedHawks have won a pair of MAC Cross Country Championships and posted nine runner-up finishes, two third-place finishes and two fourth-place showings. He has guided Miami to a runner-up finish at the league championship in three of the last five seasons (2007, 2008 and 2010) with two runners earning First-Team All-MAC honors all three years. Jarrod Eick garnered First-Team All-MAC in 2011. Prior to finishing fourth at the MAC meet in 2006, Miami finished as the conference runner-up for the second straight season in 2005, as Huling and Swisher placed first and third, respectively. Miami also placed 10th in the notoriously tough Great Lakes Region that year.

The 2004 season saw Mandrell lead the RedHawks to a second-place finish in the MAC--the team's highest finish since 2001--and a ninth-place finish at the Great Lakes Regional, one spot short of a national bid. Three of Mandrell's runners were All-MAC First-Team selections, and Mitchell earned an invitation to the NCAA Championship after a 12th-place regional finish.

Mandrell's squad reached new heights in 2003 when the RedHawks qualified as a team for the NCAA Cross Country Championship. After taking third at the MAC Championship and entering the meet ranked No. 25 in the nation, Miami finished as the top MAC school at the national meet, taking 14th, its highest final national ranking since 1997.

From 1999-2002, Miami posted three runner-up finishes and one third-place finish at the conference meet. In 1998, Mandrell was honored as the Ohio Cross Country Coach of the Year after guiding the RedHawks to their second consecutive MAC Championship and a berth in the NCAA Championship. He also received Ohio Cross Country Coach of the Year in 2010. Mandrell earned MAC Coach of the Year honors in 1997 when his RedHawks ended their 12-year MAC Championship drought and finished the season ranked in the nation's top 25. Miami climbed as high as 11th in the 1997 polls.

As the head of the Miami track and field team, Mandrell coached 11 Mideast Regional qualifiers from 2007-2009, helping two of those reach the NCAA Championships, and saw 13 RedHawks compete at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds in the last three seasons, including six in 2012. Sovacool finished 16th in the 5,000 meters at the 2008 NCAA Championships and Kevin Dwyer made back-to-back trips to the NCAA Championships, finishing in the top-20 in the decathlon in 2008 and 2009. Dwyer claimed the MAC decathlon title in 2008, becoming the first RedHawk to do so since 2001, while Michael Veatch earned the 3,000-meter steeplechase league title that same year. Mandrell also guided Sovacool to the 1,500m and 5,000m MAC crowns in 2008. At the 2010 MAC Championships, a pair of RedHawks earned runner-up finishes while four 'Hawks earned All-MAC honors at the 2011 MAC Championships by finishing second in their respective event. Two more 'Hawks won MAC titles in 2012, doing so in the 400m dash and 110m hurdles.

One of the most successful athletes mentored by Mandrell was distance runner Dan Huling, who turned in one of the most impressive individual track seasons in 2006. Huling won the 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters and 3,000-meter steeplechase at the MAC Championships, becoming the first athlete in program history to win three individual conference titles at the same meet, and he was the named the meet's Most Outstanding Performer. Huling then went on to place sixth in the 5,000 meters at the NCAA Championship, earning All-America honors and becoming the first Miami athlete since the 1944-45 seasons to be named a dual All-American in both cross country and track and field. Huling went on to win the U.S. steeplechase title at the 2010 U.S. National Championships and was tabbed North American Steeplechase Runner of the Year in 2009.

During the 2005 season, both Jake Dunkleberger and Huling won MAC titles. For the second year in row, Dunkleberger captured the conference hammer title, setting the school record in the event in 2004, and went on to become an All-American at the NCAA Championships. Huling was the MAC Champion in the 5,000 meters and set the Miami record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Mideast Regional. Five other athletes also have won conference titles during Mandrell's tenure, including Bryan Hawkins (1996, 1997), Fitz Read (1999), Chris Swank (1999), Nick Somerville (2001) and Erik Reynolds (2004).

Mandrell's student-athletes also have achieved success in the classroom. Since Mandrell's arrival in 1994, Miami has produced over 100 Academic All-MAC and MAC Honor Roll selections, including 20 Academic All-MAC athletes in the last four seasons, with three earning CoSIDA/Capital One academic all-district honors. Following the 2005-06 season, the RedHawks were honored by the National Collegiate Division I Track Coaches Association for having the 16th-highest team grade-point average in the nation (3.02). Mandrell has guided three Academic All-America selections during his tenure, including Sovacool in 2007-08. Miami's cross country team has also earned USTFCCCA All-Academic Team status 16 times under Mandrell while the track and field team was the lone MAC squad to earn the distinction in 2010 and earned the honor again each of the last two years.

Prior to taking over at Miami, Mandrell spent 12 years as the top assistant coach for the men's and women's cross country and track and field teams at Northern Arizona University. He was a part of the school's five men's and six women's Big Sky Conference Championships in cross country, as well as the 14 men's and six women's indoor and outdoor league titles.

With Mandrell as an assistant, NAU's men's cross country squad finished in the top 20 at the NCAA Championships six times between 1984 and 1991, including a second-place finish in 1988, and the women's program finished in the top 20 every year from 1986 to 1992. He coached seven men's and seven women's All-Americans while at NAU.

Outside of coaching, Mandrell served more than 20 years as an Army officer in both active duty and reserve forces. He is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. Mandrell commanded a basic training company on active duty, and he also served as the Director of Plans and Operations for the Arizona National Guard Navajo Army Depot.

Born in Lincoln, Ill., Mandrell graduated with honors from Michigan Technological University in 1978 and was Most Valuable Performer of the Michigan Tech cross country team in 1974. Mandrell also competed in track and field and cross country skiing as a student-athlete. He earned his master's degree in physical education from Northern Arizona in 1984.

Mandrell, who is a lieutenant colonel in the Army National Guard, resides in Oxford, Ohio, with his wife, Peggy, and children, Heather, Nathan and Adam.

Miami Finishes Under Mandrell
MIAMI MAC CROSS COUNTRY FINISHES
1994 - Fifth
1995 - Sixth
1996 - Second
1997 - First
1998 - First
1999 - Second
2000 - T-Second
2001 - Second
2002 - Third
2003 - Third
2004 - Second
2005 - Second
2006 - Fourth
2007 - Second
2008 - Second
2009 - Fourth
2010 - T-Second
2011 - Eighth

MIAMI TRACK AND FIELD FINISHES
1995 - Eighth
1996 - Fifth
1997 - Sixth
1998 - Fifth
1999 - Fifth
2000 - Tenth
2001 - Seventh
2002 - Eleventh
2003 - Sixth
2004 - Fourth
2005 - Fourth
2006 - Fifth
2007 - Seventh
2008 - Fourth
2009 - Sixth
2010 - Sixth
2011 - Sixth
2012 - Sixth