Brock Moreaux has had to hit the ground running. South Carolina’s new cross country coach and track and field assistant coach for distance was recently hired by new head track and field coach Tim Hall, and he has a lot to do to not only get his program up to speed with the fall season beginning on September 1, while also getting out there to recruit, but also in preparing to host the SEC Cross Country Championship in October.
“As soon as I got the job, I was on the phone with a different girl on the team every fifteen minutes,” Moreaux said. “Typically, when you come into a new program, the big piece is establishing the culture that you know will be able to elevate the student-athletes. Fortunately, the foundation of the culture was already there. They’re an awesome, supportive group. I’m excited to provide that extra stability that will help take them from where they are to getting them to where they want to be. What showed me how mature the culture was could be seen in how much they helped our group of freshmen.
“I want to have an individualized, personal approach with them. Not everything works for the same person, so I have to have that individual approach and really figure out what works for you and makes you tick. Then we figure out how to bring that into the team environment. At the end of the day, they’re all going to benefit from that group setting. They need to understand that what they need to do is going to impact the whole team.”
One of Moreaux’s goals in year one is to increase the team’s standing in the SEC.
“We’ve got the pieces,” Moreaux said. “The talent is here. We’ve got some very good girls that are returning and some really good newcomers. I have no doubt that they can be a top eight team in the SEC for cross country, which would be the highest they’ve been since 2001. So, that would be a pretty awesome thing in year one.
“The long-term goal is consistency and fighting to be in the top five in the SEC. If you’re top five in SEC cross country, you’re bidding for nationals. That’s a goal as well; to have a team going to nationals on the cross side.”
Getting to that point may not happen overnight, and Moreaux is preparing for the challenges ahead.
“I’ve hit the ground running on the recruiting side for the class of 2024 as well,” Moreaux said. “One of my biggest challenges is getting them to understand the difference between training and racing. We have to learn how to train…