Kirk Elias brings more than 50 years of experience as he heads into his 20th season as the head cross country coach and his 21st season as the assistant track coach for Nevada. Under his direction, the Wolf Pack cross country team saw significant improvement in the 2023 season and the track & field team's distance runners have been record-setting fast.
In the 2023 cross country season, Elias saw Jaedyn Chase set the record for the best 8,000m time for a freshman, Chase running a 24:58. At the same race in Riverside, California, Daniel Sayo set the second best 8,000m time in program history with a 23:54.
In the 2018 cross country season, Elias saw the Nevada school record fall at the hands of Lindsey Sickler, finishing the 6,000m race in 20:26. Sickler would earn Mountain West Cross Country Athlete of the Week honors, just the second time a member of the Pack earned the distinction. Hiley Dobbs was named to the NCAA All-Mountain Region Team as well.
For the 2018-19 track season, Elias saw the 10,000m school record fall twice, and two of his distance runners qualify for NCAA West Prelims. Morgin Coonfield broke it first, with a time of 34:39.64. At the conference championships, Dobbs broke it with a time of 34:33.91, a qualifying mark. Also qualifying was Sickler, who took bronze at conference in the steeplechase.
Elias wrapped up his most successful two year stretch since joining the Mountain West with the distance group, capped off with an All-American honor for Emily Myers in the 3000 meter steeplechase. Across the 2016-17 season, Elias' distance group recorded four All-Conference honors in both indoor and outdoor track. In the 2017-18 season, Elias saw two runners qualify for the NCAA West Preliminary Round.
Elias' Division-I coaching experience is extensive, and includes stints at Minnesota, Texas Tech, Arkansas-Little Rock and Nevada. Since arriving at Nevada, Elias has coached 13 All-WAC cross country selections, including eight first-team selections, and two WAC Cross Country Freshman of the Year honorees. Since moving to the Mountain West, the cross country team has seen four all-conference team honors, including a first team, as well as a freshman of the year. The Wolf Pack cross country team posted four consecutive top-three finishes at the WAC Cross Country Championships under Elias' direction, and the track team's distance corps has routinely turned in impressive performances, logging several top-five performances at the conference level since entering the Mountain West. The 2008-09 squad recorded first place finishes in the 1,500-meter, 3,000-meter steeplechase, 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter races at the outdoor championships.
Elias entered the Division-I coaching scene in 1985 as an assistant at Minnesota, where he coached All-America and All-Big 10 selection, Gretchen Otto. In eight seasons with the Golden Gophers, Elias coached sprints, hurdles, jumps and multi-events. He also founded a club team for post-collegiate distance runners, where he coached Leslie Seymour who went on to make five World Championships for the USA.
As an assistant at Texas Tech, Elias coached the cross country team to its then-highest finish ever at the NCAA District Championships. He is credited with recruiting and coaching two individual national qualifiers in the 1996-97 season, the university's first women to reach nationals since 1984 in cross country and 1985 in track. Elias' student-athletes set 12 school records during his four seasons with the Red Raiders.
At Arkansas-Little Rock, Elias led the Trojans to four conference cross country titles in 2001 and 2002 - two women's and two men's - the first in the school's history. He also earned four Sunbelt Conference Cross Country Coach of the Year awards during his tenure. Elias' track athletes at UALR were equally accomplished. He coached All-America selections from the men's and women's teams, and saw his 2002-03 and 2003-04 squads earn national All-Academic honors.
Elias is one of just a handful of coaches to lead a team at the high school, NAIA, Division-III, Division-II, Division-I and international levels. Equally important is his wide-range of experience coaching across the sprint, hurdle, jump, multi-events, middle and long distance events.
Elias earned a Bachelors of Science in secondary education with an emphasis in speech and a minor in English from the University of Minnesota in 1978.
