Volunteer Coaches Round Out StaffThree professional runners set to help guide the Arizona cross country and track and field teams. 3 0 3

Nov. 9, 2011

TUCSON - University of Arizona Wildcat Director of Cross Country and Track and Field Fred Harvey has announced the addition of three additional volunteer assistant coaches for the 2011-12 season. Bernard Lagat, Boaz Lalang and David McNeill will join the Arizona staff working specifically with the distance runners. All three are professional athletes who train with Arizona's associate head coach James Li.Lagat competed collegiately for Li at Washington State where he won the mile and 3,000-meter races at the 1999 NCAA Indoor Championships, earning the title of NCAA Indoor Male Athlete of the Year. That same year, Lagat won the 5,000-meter race at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. He accumulated four Pac-10 Conference titles and was named Men's Track & Field Co-Athlete of the Year in 1999.
He currently holds six American records and has won nine U.S. titles. Also to his credit are nine World Championships medals, including four gold.

Lalang is the older brother of current Wildcat and Pac-12 Cross Country Champion Lawi Lalang. The 2010 season was a very successful year for Lalang, setting all of his outdoor personal records, including his 800 meter time of 1:42.95. Representing Kenya, Lalang earned a silver medal in the 800 meters at the World Indoor Championships in Doha. He posted a time of 1:46.39 in the race. At the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Lalang earned a gold medal in the 800-meter race. He also participated in the 2008 Olympic Games, finishing third in the semifinals at 1:45.87.

McNeill competed collegiately at Northern Arizona, winning the 2010 NCAA Championship in the 5,000 meters during both the indoor and outdoor seasons. In 2009, McNeill was the runner-up at the NCAA Championships in the 5K. He was named the Division I Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the 2009 season by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). McNeill competed in the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in 2007, 2008 and 2011.