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Bernhard Joins Women’s T&F Staff as Assistant Coach
6/30/2023 3:47:00 PM | Women's Track & Field
HOUSTON – Rice women's track & field/cross country head coach Jim Bevan announced Friday afternoon the addition of Cutter Bernhard as an assistant coach for the Owls' program.
"We are excited to add Cutter Bernhard to our staff. He is a proven, outstanding coach that will bring knowledge and national experience to our team," Bevan said. "When I spoke with my peers about Cutter, they all felt like he would be a tremendous fit to our program and is an outstanding person and coach."
Bernhard joins the Owls after spending 15 seasons at Sam Houston from being a student-athlete (pole vault) from 2008-13, a graduate assistant for the track and field program from 2013-16 and spending the last seven years as an assistant coach.
"Cutter will oversee the multis, the high jump, help with the horizontal jumps, write the strength programs for the speed-power group, work with the speed development of the vaulters and jumpers, and help assist Coach Smith with the sprinters/hurdlers," Bevan added. "He will be our recruiting coordinator and director of operations as well and will have oversight of the Victor Lopez Classic. We are excited to have Cutter on board and we are looking forward to doing great things with him on board in addition to Laton Smith (sprints and hurdles) and David Butler (vaulters)."
At Sam Houston, Bernhard was responsible for recruiting and all phases of coaching the men's and women's combined events and vertical jumps. During his seven years he helped produce three Top 3 NCAA Division I Championships finishers, seven NCAA First Team All-Americans (only men's qualifiers in program history), 24 NCAA West Preliminary Qualifiers and 40 All-Conference performances.
As assistant coach at Sam Houston, the Bearkats captured 12 team titles, seven men and five women, in the Southland Conference with the most recent being the 2019 men's outdoor title. Sam Houston was also team runner-up on 10 times, with the most recent being on the women's side at the 2023 Western Athletic Conference Indoor Championships.
One of the most recent coaching successes from Bernhard is shown through Tyler Adams, who saw his heptathlon score jump from 5277 points to 6081 points under Bernhard's coaching. Adams has two records at Sam Houston with the heptathlon (6081 points) and indoor high jump (2.20m - 7-2.50). He is a four-time Southland Conference champion and won three event titles at the 2018 Indoor Southland Championships (heptathlon, high jump, long jump), earning Adams the 2018 Southland Conference Indoor Men's Track Athlete of the Year. Adams also finished third at the 2018 NCAA Indoor Championships in the heptathlon while also finishing 10th in high jump.
As a member of the Bearkats track & field team, he registered five top-10 finishes at the Southland Conference Championships. As a senior in 2012, he placed sixth at the Outdoor SLC Championships jumping 16-0.75. During his career, Bernhard served as a team captain for three seasons and a member of the Student Athlete Advisement Committee for three years.
"We are excited to add Cutter Bernhard to our staff. He is a proven, outstanding coach that will bring knowledge and national experience to our team," Bevan said. "When I spoke with my peers about Cutter, they all felt like he would be a tremendous fit to our program and is an outstanding person and coach."
Bernhard joins the Owls after spending 15 seasons at Sam Houston from being a student-athlete (pole vault) from 2008-13, a graduate assistant for the track and field program from 2013-16 and spending the last seven years as an assistant coach.
"Cutter will oversee the multis, the high jump, help with the horizontal jumps, write the strength programs for the speed-power group, work with the speed development of the vaulters and jumpers, and help assist Coach Smith with the sprinters/hurdlers," Bevan added. "He will be our recruiting coordinator and director of operations as well and will have oversight of the Victor Lopez Classic. We are excited to have Cutter on board and we are looking forward to doing great things with him on board in addition to Laton Smith (sprints and hurdles) and David Butler (vaulters)."
At Sam Houston, Bernhard was responsible for recruiting and all phases of coaching the men's and women's combined events and vertical jumps. During his seven years he helped produce three Top 3 NCAA Division I Championships finishers, seven NCAA First Team All-Americans (only men's qualifiers in program history), 24 NCAA West Preliminary Qualifiers and 40 All-Conference performances.
As assistant coach at Sam Houston, the Bearkats captured 12 team titles, seven men and five women, in the Southland Conference with the most recent being the 2019 men's outdoor title. Sam Houston was also team runner-up on 10 times, with the most recent being on the women's side at the 2023 Western Athletic Conference Indoor Championships.
One of the most recent coaching successes from Bernhard is shown through Tyler Adams, who saw his heptathlon score jump from 5277 points to 6081 points under Bernhard's coaching. Adams has two records at Sam Houston with the heptathlon (6081 points) and indoor high jump (2.20m - 7-2.50). He is a four-time Southland Conference champion and won three event titles at the 2018 Indoor Southland Championships (heptathlon, high jump, long jump), earning Adams the 2018 Southland Conference Indoor Men's Track Athlete of the Year. Adams also finished third at the 2018 NCAA Indoor Championships in the heptathlon while also finishing 10th in high jump.
As a member of the Bearkats track & field team, he registered five top-10 finishes at the Southland Conference Championships. As a senior in 2012, he placed sixth at the Outdoor SLC Championships jumping 16-0.75. During his career, Bernhard served as a team captain for three seasons and a member of the Student Athlete Advisement Committee for three years.
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