Duke cross country has a new head coach.
Monday evening, the program announced that Angela Reckart, the associate head coach at Penn State for the last six years, had been hired as the next head coach for the Blue Devil men's and women's teams. Reckart will also serve as an assistant coach for track and field, with a focus on distance.
“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to lead the men's and women's cross country team and officially be a part of the Duke Cross Country/Track & Field family,” Reckart said in the press release. “I know [program director] Shawn [Wilbourn] very well and I believe in the vision that he has for this program. I look forward to being a part of this fantastic staff, getting to work with amazing student-athletes and helping to continue to elevate Duke Cross Country/Track & Field at the ACC and NCAA level.”
During her time with the Nittany Lions, Reckart was part of one conference championship—back in 2015—and five straight top-20 national finishes. She also was an assistant at North Carolina for three years.
Reckart replaces Rhonda Riley, who had been the interim head coach of the men's team since Norm Ogilvie announced his retirement last April and head coach of the women's team since 2016. Riley is no longer a part of the program, and at the time of publication, the program has not released any explanation.
"There was no indication or conversation that ever alluded to me not returning," Riley told The Chronicle when asked if there was any indication that the program was planning to let her go.
The Chronicle reached out to a Duke Athletics spokesperson to request comment from program director Shawn Wilbourn about Riley's departure. The program declined to comment.
"I respect that a new director wants to have his own people," Riley said.
Evan Kolin contributed reporting to this article.
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Max Rego is a Trinity senior and an associate sports editor for The Chronicle's 118th volume. He was previously sports managing editor for Volume 117.
Jake Piazza is a Trinity senior and was sports editor of The Chronicle's 117th volume.