Skip To Main Content

Eastern Washington University Athletics

Schedule

Upcoming

Results

Full Calendar
Sam Read 2023 XC

Sam Read

  • Title
    Cross Country Head Coach / Distance Coach
  • Email
    sread1@ewu.edu
  • Phone
    509-359-6679
  • Experience
    Sixth Season in 2023-24
  • Alma Mater
    Wartburg College (Iowa) '14
Sam Read joined the Eagle staff as the program’s head cross country coach and distance running coach in 2018, after serving as a graduate assistant and assistant coach at Montana State from 2014-18 (assistant coach 2016-18).

This past cross country season he propelled the Eastern cross country teams forward to a fourth at the championships for the men, the second highest finish in program history, while the women finish fifth. This past season the women were ranked regionally for the season time in history.
 
During Reads time at EWU, three school records have been broken, including the Men’s Distance Medley Relay (MDMR), the Women’s Distance Medley Relay (WDMR), and the Men’s Steeplechase. During the outdoor seasons, the men's team have added 12 new marks to the all-time top-10 list, while the women’s team added nine. During the indoor season, the impact was just as impressive, with 13 men’s performances and 22 women’s performances earning spots on EWU’s all-time top-10 list.

On the individual front, Justin Roosma earned All-Conference honors in the steeplechase, while Owen Higgins claimed All-Conference recognition in the indoor 800 meters. Roosma also qualified for the NCAA West Regional in the steeplechase, joined by Isaac Barville, who qualified in the 1500 meters.

At MSU he assisted Dale Kennedy, the recently-retired director of cross country and track and field for the Bobcats, and Lyle Weese, Bobcat head cross country coach and assistant track and field coach, with distance runners. Read also taught statistics and mathematics courses and supervised the Math Learning Center.

Montana State had four All-Americans and 17 Big Sky Conference champions (including two relays) in distance running while Read was there. Included were two sub-4 minute milers, plus eight new school record holders. As a team, MSU had nine top-three finishes in Big Sky Conference competitions while Read was there.

During his undergraduate career, Read competed in cross country and track and field at Wartburg College in Iowa, where his career was highlighted by a victory in the 10,000 meters at the 2014 Iowa Conference Track and Field Championships. He served as a member of the school’s Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and received his bachelor’s degree in mathematics and economics.

Read is now a competitive road racer, as well as his wife, Rebekah. They met while both were on the cross country team at Wartburg College and got married in December of 2017 after she did an 18-month mission in Honduras. Sam won the 2018 Glacier Half Marathon, setting a new course record. He has also won the 2017 and 2018 Governor’s Cup 10K in Helena, Mont., and the prestigious Montana Cup Cross Country Championship in 2016.

Read received his master’s degree from MSU in 2016 and his bachelor’s degree in 2014 from Wartburg.