Meet the New Boss
Not the same as the old one, but Epperson does comes from the Siemers tree
Mike Brohard
Stability is desired. The same reasons why it is so valued are why change can sometimes be feared.
If you can bridge the gap between the two, transitions are so much easier, which is the way Maximilliano Martinez views the stage where the Colorado State cross country program – and in turn, the distance program for the track teams – now resides.
“People come and leave, and the team dynamic always changes. This year feels different,” the graduate runner said. “This feels team ready. We’re excited. It’s like entering an old school but new school. They redid the walls and painted the hallways. You’re like, this feels fresh. That puts a lot of people in an excited mood, and we have some good leaders on the team.”
At the end of the track season, it was announced longtime coach Art Siemers was leaving as the cross country and distance coach, groups which under him enjoyed tremendous success. You start by listing off a host of all-conference and All-American accolades for his athletes, then close with the fact his men’s cross country teams in 2017 and 2018 posted back-to-back top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships, the only program on campus which can claim consecutive top-10 results at a national level.
Naturally, the student-athletes on hand were in a bit of limbo, wondering who would now guide their futures. There were rumors it may just be assistant coach Andrew Epperson who would fill the void, which left them hopeful.
When the official word came it would, in fact, be Epperson – an assistant to Siemers the past six years – there was a wave of relief.
“They’ve been working as a team. Had you not looked at the roster, you wouldn’t have known who was in charge and who was the assistant,” Annabel Stafford said. “It was very much a team effort, so we were all very excited if someone had to take over it was Epperson. It was as comfortable as it could be.
“He’s an extremely experienced runner and coach. He is excited to push us in ways we haven’t been pushed before, while still allowing us to listen to our bodies. One thing very unique about our program is we all have a say in our own training, so everyone is very open about how they’re feeling. It will be a team effort to make the transition as seamless as possible for everyone.”
He is not a clone of his mentor, but the foundation of his ideas come from the same lab. Epperson ran at Colorado School of Mines for not only Siemers, but his brother, Chris. He then was lured to Colorado State by Art to become his assistant.
Art did not hire Epperson to be a yes man or toe the line. He hired him to bring about fresh ideas to training and competition, all in the process of staying true to what head track coach Brian Bedard felt Siemers always did best -- develop talent. All of it Epperson witnessed and absorbed from Art and his brother, which he felt was the catalyst in him becoming a Division II All-American.
Some things will change, but the base is extremely near and dear to him.
“They’re both such great people and really emphasize development and focus on really the enjoyment of the sport,” Epperson said. “I think that’s what brought along a lot of individual success for myself, but also, I can see how it impacts not just the superstars of the sport, but everyone who is passionate about the sport. I think that approach works really well. I’m very confident in about how that approach works here in Fort Collins with the areas we have to train in, the altitude that we’re at and the type of people we can attract. I think a lot of great things coming together in a great environment have really paved the way for the entire 10 years Siemers was here, and then moving forward, there are a lot of things that are going to continue to work well.”
Even so, Epperson has to be true to himself now that he sits in the big chair. A lot of what he learned from the Siemers brothers he will put to use, including the notion of not being afraid to branch out. He has always been a student of the sport, researching innovative ideas and different studies when it comes to training, competition and the preparation for both.
No question, he feels a bit of pressure. Asked what advice Siemers gave him, head track coach Brian Bedard quipped: “Don’t screw it up.”
It’s a sense of comfort on my end, but more so on their end where they’re very familiar with talking and speaking with me, but also how things have been structured and put forth for the team.Andrew Epperson
What Siemers actually told him was to remember his passion for the sport, but mainly to remember it is a sport. It will present good and bad days, and he can’t allow either one to overwhelm him. The best advice was just a reminder of what he told Epperson as a young coach, and that’s to remember he’s in it for the right reasons and to have a short memory.
“There’s pressure, right, because I’m not Art Siemers and I need to remind myself that I don’t need to be Art Siemers, but there’s a legacy he’s developed in his coaching stints I want to live up to and have the program live up to, as well,” Epperson said. “There’s pressure, but there’s the reminder to be myself, I don’t have to be him and continue to build on something the program has already established.
“They are trusting me and coach Kelly Hart as well, and together I think we can continue to establish the relationships here and see things through and continue to push them to their own individual goals and team goals.”
He also knows whatever happens from here on out falls on his name. He’s comfortable with the realization. His first change isn’t exactly earth shattering – moving the team’s lifting day from Wednesday to Thursday. He feels it will help with their training and recovery, and Martinez said the early results seem positive. Other changes have been subtle, such as new training routes. But there will be more to come as he watches the sport, and his runners advance.
As with anything he changes, he’ll take a wait and see approach. Some of it will work. Some ideas will flounder, and he’ll act accordingly each way. One of his first tasks was to fill his old assistant’s role, bringing in Hart. One of the big reasons is her background – primarily middle distance – is different than his, allowing the two to work together to complete the circle on what their entire crew will require. He feels her background and training expertise in the area will help move the program forward, as even a successful one can only benefit from fresh thinking. If not, he said, even the top programs can become stagnant and start to plateau.
It was a move met with a positive response from the team, as Martinez said she’s very personable and helpful with both teams, but for the women, they like the fact someone who has been in their shoes and excelled as a coach and athlete is in the mix.
“It's very exciting. Especially the women’s team, it’s always great to have another female in charge,” Stafford said. “She has a lot of experience in both the athlete side and coaching side, so I think we’re all so excited to work with her.”
What has Epperson most excited is what hit his runners, too. He helped recruit some of these athletes, and he’s worked the past few years with not only their physical progress, but the mental state and how to chase away demons.
Stafford said Epperson gets it all. He understands that a rough day of practice, even a down meet, can lead a runner to a dark place they don’t need to be. He’s been there, and he’s helped them push past the doubt. She also appreciates the way he communicates with them and understands they are all different when it comes to running, even the training, and takes a personal, individual tact with all of them.
“That’s probably the most exciting thing. It’s not so much the title change, but I get to continue to work with the student-athletes who were recruited here and have developed here,” Epperson said. “It’s a sense of comfort on my end, but more so on their end where they’re very familiar with talking and speaking with me, but also how things have been structured and put forth for the team. It’s not completely a 180 or a new face coming in, it’s someone who is going to make small changes here and there for the better with what has been working and not been working.
“I’ve been looking forward to this season since the last season and even more so since my title and things have changed.”
With good reason. The women’s squad broke a dry spell of NCAA appearances two years ago, cracking into the top 25 in each of the past two years at the national meet, finishing 17th a year ago. Of the seven women who ran in the race, six of them are back, including the top-two finishers, Lily Tomsula-Martin and Stafford.
The men haven’t been back since placing ninth in 2018 for the second consecutive year, a string of misses they’d like to end. Of the seven who competed at the NCAA Regionals, five are back, and a few returners come back healthy.
Such as Martinez. As a graduate student, he had a chance to find a new home, but as soon as he learned Epperson was coming back, he knew there was no place he’d rather compete. It’s a program which has stuck by him through injuries, coaches who know him and have pushed him.
It still feels like home.
“He’s a fresh look on the same building,” Martinez said, “and it makes you excited to go back to school.”