MACOMB, Ill. – Western Illinois University Director of Athletics Dr. Tim Van Alstine announced Friday (July 2) the hiring of David Beauchem as the head cross country/track and field coach. Beauchem will oversee the Leatherneck men’s and women’s programs.
Beauchem joins the Leathernecks after serving the last 16 years as the head cross country/track and field coach at Bradley University. During his tenure, Beauchem coached 35 All-Missouri Valley Conference performers (12 in cross country), three NCAA Championship qualifiers and 10 individuals who won conference track and field titles. Mary Ellen Hill, one of the three NCAA Championship qualifiers Beauchem coached, advanced to the national meet on six occasions.
The 1998 MVC Cross Country ‘Coach of the Year’, Beauchem coached the Bradley women to the conference championship that season. He oversaw Bradley playing host to three NCAA Midwest Cross Country Regional meets.
Beauchem’s teams have also excelled in the classroom. In 2003 and 2005 the women’s cross country team was recognized for the nation’s best grade point average among NCAA Division I programs. He has coached six Academic All-Americans and national scholar-athletes.
“I am very honored and privileged to follow the coaching footsteps of Jim Sackett, Lee Calhoun, Dave Miller, and Mike Stevenson in leading the Western Illinois University Cross Country/Track and Field program. We have a great nucleus of returning student-athletes and a solid group of incoming freshmen. I am looking forward to having everyone back to campus and getting practice started this fall,” said Beauchem. “My family is in the process of making our move to Macomb as well. We look forward to starting the school year here and becoming a part of Macomb community and the WIU family.”
Beauchem recently completed a term with two NCAA Track and Field Committees and one with Cross Country. Since 2008 he represented the Missouri Valley Conference on the NCAA Division I Track and Field Committee, and Track and Field Rules Committee. Last year Beauchem served as Chair on the NCAA Division I Cross Country Sub-Committee. From 2000-06 he was Treasurer for the United States Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA) and spent three years as a Conference/Regional Representative.
“We are very excited to have David Beauchem join the Leatherneck family. His accomplishments and credentials as a head coach are very impressive, and we are confident our Cross Country and Track and Field teams will benefit from his knowledge and experience,” said Dr. Van Alstine. “David brings 16 years of head coaching experience to Western, and he understands our great tradition. His teams at Bradley have contended for Missouri Valley Conference titles all while emphasizing academic performance.”
Beauchem served as a volunteer assistant coach at the University of Illinois for two years after working as a graduate assistant coach at Florida State from 1991-93. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Southern Illinois in 1990, then his Master’s from FSU in 1993.
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