Head Men's and Women's Cross Country and Track & Field Coach Francie Larrieu Smith
Five-time Olympian Francie Larrieu Smith is in her 13th season as the Head Men and Women's Cross Country and Track and Field Coach at Southwestern University. Her excellence as a world-renown distance runner is well documented. She, and Southwestern, are dedicated to achieving that same level of excellence in our cross country and track and field programs.

Most recently Coach Smith was selected as an assistant coach for the 2011 Pan American Games and will head to Guadalajara, Mexico on October 23-29. She also served as USA Track & Field's Junior Women's Team Leader at the 2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Amman, Jordan. The US junior women placed fifth in these World Championships.

During her tenure at Southwestern University Coach Smith has taken two athletes (one male, one female) to the NCAA Cross Country Championships. She has coached athletes to South/Southeast Region honors 17 times and All-SCAC (Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference) honors 16 times. In Track and Field she has coached two athletes and three relay teams to SCAC Championship titles and 24 athletes to All-SCAC honors. Additionally, one athlete earned SCAC Athlete-of-the-Meet (high point scorer) during the 2008 track & field season having won 3 individual events and was a member of two winning relay teams.

As an athlete, Smith had her best Olympic finish in 1988 with a fifth place finish in the 10,000 meters at Seoul, South Korea. As a crowning achievement, she was the flag bearer for the U.S. Olympic Team in Barcelona, Spain (1992).

During the course of her 30-year career, Smith established 36 U.S. records and 12 world bests in distances ranging from 1,000 to 10,000 meters. She was selected by Runner's World magazine as "The Most Versatile Runner of the Quarter Century." Coach Smith is a member of several halls of fame including The Texas Women's Hall of Fame, The National Track and Field Hall of Fame, and the Long Distance Running Hall of Fame.

Smith earned a M.Ed. in Sport Administration from The University of Texas at Austin in December 2000. She earned Level I coaching certification and Level II certifications with specializations in endurance and sprints, hurdles and relays from the USA Track and Field Coaching Certification program.

Coach Francie Larrieu Smith's Personal Records

Kris Haney joined the staff at Southwestern University in August 2011 as the Assistant Women's Basketball Coach and Assistant Men's and Women's Track & Field Coach. Kris earned his B.S in Exercise and Sports Science from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. While attending Mary Hardin-Baylor Kris volunteered as a teacher’s assistant for weight training and intermediate tennis, graduating in 2008 as the Exercise and Sports Science Major of the Year.  After graduation Kris assisted Kerri Brinkoeter for two years with the highly-competitive Georgetown Fury Select Club Basketball Team. 

Most recently he held the position of Director of Athletics and coach at Grace Academy and also served as the youth minister at Main Street Baptist Church in Georgetown.  Kris served as a volunteer assistant on the sidelines for Coach Kerri Brinkoeter during the successful 2010-11 Southwestern University women’s basketball campaign.  Kris and his wife Melissa reside in Georgetown, Texas.

Doug Ross joins the Southwestern University track & field coaching staff for his second season as a volunteer assistant.

Ross began his involvement with Track & Field at the age of 10, and after a successful high school career was awarded an athletic scholarship to Louisiana Tech University.  While at Tech, he competed in the 800m, 1500m, and one season on the Cross Country team.  He was a 3 year varsity letterman, received numerous all-conference honors, and was part of two conference championship teams.

After graduating with a BS Degree in Management, he took an opportunity with a national insurance company and enjoyed success with their organization for 14 years.  Although he enjoyed the enterprise, he still had a passion for athletics.  In 2005 he left the corporate world behind and opened a personal training studio and consulting business in Austin.  During this time, he helped numerous clients lead a healthier lifestyle, and coached dozens to participate in races from 5K to marathons along with Sprint and Olympic distance triathlons.

Ross has also coached youth athletics for the last 8 years, spending time with a variety of soccer, t-ball, and volleyball teams while also privately coaching individuals.  Most recently he was the private coach for two distance runners at Vista Ridge High School and has served as a volunteer assistant for the Track & Field programs at Louisiana Tech University and Ruston High School (LA). 

Still involved in the sport he regularly competes in 5K races, completed his first marathon in 2008, and is currently preparing to challenge himself back on the track at the master's level with the Waterloo Track Club.  He holds the Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist Certification (CSCS), two additional national personal trainer certifications, the USATF Level 1 Coaching Certification, and is a member of the City of Austin Mayor's Fitness Council.

He, his wife Becki and two daughters, Jesse and Hannah, they have been residents of Cedar Park since 2003.