Duley named BMC cross country coach

BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. - Heather Duley will become head coach of the Blue Mountain College cross country program on March 1.

Duley, coach of the Spartans, a team of North Mississippi home-schooled runners based in New Albany, will replace Fred Smith, who founded the BMC program in 2007. Smith resigned recently to move to Colorado Springs, Colo.

"Coach Duley brings a wealth of knowledge as a cross country coach," said Lavon Driskell, BMC athletic director. "She has worked with and knows numerous athletes and coaches in our area. It was a difficult decision because of the quality of the candidates for the job, but we feel Heather is a good fit for BMC."

Duley, a native of Cordova, Tenn., helped start the East Union High program in 2001 and coached there until 2004 when she and her family moved to Louisville, Ky. She was a four-time letter-winner at Lambuth University and captain of the cross country team.

While she was at East Union, she coached Tuesdae Rowland, Richard Feist and Austin Epting, current members of the BMC cross country program.

The Toppers are members of the NAIA TranSouth Athletic Conference.

"I'm excited to get this opportunity," Duley said. "Blue Mountain is a great college and Coach Smith has done an outstanding job with the cross country program the past three years. It's a big challenge; definitely new and different, but I'm looking forward to it.

            "My main goal is to continue to build a strong program on Coach Smith's foundation," she added. "We're going to focus on building a strong team atmosphere and also add to our women's team. We need to get some numbers there where we can be even more competitive in the TranSouth."