Megan Wagenaar begins her fifth season as head coach of the Concordia Texas men's and women's cross country and track and field teams.
After serving as the graduate assistant for one season, Wagenaar was named head coach in August of 2017.
In 2020-21, Wagenaar's fourth year at the helm, both the cross country program and track and field program enjoyed successful seasons.
Wagennar's cross country squad registered a fifth-place finish at the ASC Championships as Rick Platas and Jacob Ismir earned All-ASC Second Team honors by finishing eighth and 14th, respectively. On the women's side, Bianca Bagwell was selected to the ASC Second Team with an 11th-place finish.
The Tornados' track and field team had a stellar showing at the 2021 ASC Championships as they took home five individual titles and seven All-ASC selections between the men's and women's teams.
On the men's side, Ravon Davis-Conway took home two individual titles, placing first in both the long jump and the triple jump. Davis-Conway recieved ASC First Team honors alongside Matthew Gregory, who won the program's first shot put title. Brett Jackson and Tevin Smith each earned All-ASC second team honors after Jackson finished second in the 110m hurdles and Smith finished second in the 400m dash.
On the women's side, Bianca Bagwell claimed the 800m title and Paighton Corley took first place in the heptathlon, both earning All-ASC First Team selections. Bayli Luke joined them with a second-team selection, finishing second in the 400m dash.
Luke ended the year with the eighth-best 400m time in DIII, becoming the first Concordia Texas women's participant in the NCAA DIII Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
In her third year, Wagenaar coached a youthful cross country program, while overseeing the track and field programs who set school records in their shortened season.
In the fall, Wagenaar coached 20 freshman between the men's and women's teams with Brianna Lopez being the top runner on the women's side, while Rick Platas was the best finisher for the men's team.
At the ASC Championships meet, Lopez earned ASC Second Team honors with a 14th place finish and helped the team to a fifth place team finish, the program's best team finish since 2015. On the men's side, Platas set the program record for best 8K time at an ASC Championships, running a time of 27:35.6 as the Tornados finished sixth as a team, their best placement since 2015.
In the spring, the track and field had a strong start to the season before having it shortened after three meets due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the season opening meet, the YellowJacket Invitational, the women's team set a couple of records as Paighton Corley ran a school record time of 16.32 in the 100m hurdles, while freshman Anayah Anderson jumped a program record 5.46m in the triple jump. In the following meet, Kendall Simpson broke her own school record with a clearance of 2.60m in the pole vault at the Trinity Invitational. In their final meet of the year, the Jet Relays, the team set school record times in the 4x800m relay and the sprint medley relay.
Meanwhile, on the men's side, the Tornados set a couple of school records at the Trinity Invitational as Alejandro Salazar competed as the first pole vaulter in program history, clearing a height of 3.05m for the record, while Rick Platas ran a record-breaking time of 34:44.28 in the 10,000m run.
In year two for Wagenaar, she continued the success of the cross country and track and field programs.
In the fall, Emily Villines led the women's cross country team to an eighth place finish at the ASC Championships. Villines placed in the top seven runners and earned ASC First Team honors. She finished her career as a four-time ASC First Team, the first runner in program history to accomplish the feat. On the men's side, the Tornados placed seventh as a team at the ASC Championships, their best team finish since 2015.
During the track and field season, CTX set records on both the men's and women's side.
Gabriel Spivey, Raul Villalpando and Alejandro Salazar shined for the men's team at the ASC Championships. Spivey set school records in the long jump and the 400m dash on his way to claiming the ASC individual titles in those respective events. Villalpando, meanwhile, defended his ASC title in the 110m hurdles to repeat as the ASC individual champion. Salazar, meanwhile, recorded the best javelin throw by a Tornado at the ASC Championships.
Salazar, Villalpando and Spivey all received ASC All-Conference honors, while the Tornados finished fifth as a team and tallied their most points (81) since 2013.
Spivey was an USTFCCCA All-Region selection after having the best long jump mark in the South/Southwest Regional and qualified for his third straight NCAA Championships appearance, competing in the 400m and the long jump.
On the women's side, Bayli Luke, Kendall Sheppard and Kendall Simpson all set school records throughout the year. At the ASC Championships, Sheppard smashed the school record in the javelin throw, recording a top-five placement. Simpson, meanwhile, broke her own record in the pole vault event. Luke finished as the runner up in the 400m dash, running a school record time of 58.23.
Luke along with Ava Gomez and Sadie Ingram all received ASC All-Conference accolades for their performance at the championships meet. The Tornados as a team placed fifth, their best team finish since 2016 and accumulated their most points since 2015.
Her first season at the helm of CTX saw plenty of success in both cross country as well as track and field.
The cross country season was highlighted by Emily Villines, who earned a third place finish in the ASC Championships and was named all-region after a top-30 finish in the South/Southeast Regionals.
In track and field, the Tornados had a historic season, breaking school records in six different events in 2018. The events included women's long jump (Bayli Luke), women's 5000m (Emily Villines), women's 10,000m (Emily Villines), women's heptahlon (Sadie Ingram), men's 110m hurdles (Raul Villalpando) and men's 1500m (Sam Stewart).
Additionally, Gabriel Spivey advanced to the NCAA DIII Championships for the second straight season in the long jump. Spivey earned ASC All-Conference honors and finished in 20th place at the NCAA Championships.
Wagenaar returns to Concordia University Texas after an incredible collegiate career with the Tornados.
In her four seasons with the Tornados, she collected ASC All-Conference honors every season. She still holds two school records and was a member of CTX's only ASC Cross Country Championship squad in 2011, a team where she served as co-captain.
Wagenaar graduated with her bachelor's in business administration in 2014 from Concordia Texas and achieved her masters in business administration in the spring of 2018. She currently resides in Austin, Texas.
Coaching Highlights (Cross Country):
• 2017 All-South/Southeast Region selection Emily Villines
• Seven All-ASC selections, including two first-team selections
• 16 ASC All-Academic honorees
Coaching Highlights (Track and Field):
• 2021 NCAA Championships Qualifier and USTFCCCA All-West Region selection Bayli Luke
• 2021 ASC Outstanding Field Athlete USTFCCCA All-West Region selection Ravon Davis-Conway
• 2021 USTFCCCA All-West Region selection Matthew Gregory
• 2021 USTFCCCA All-West Region selection Brett Jackson
• 2021 USTFCCCA All-West Region selection Paighton Corley
• Three Individual ASC Titles
• Six All-ASC selections
• 19 ASC All-Academic honorees
