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John Sauerhage, head coach of track and field and cross country, took over the men’s and women’s programs in 1996. Since then, he has led teams to multiple Western Athletic Conference and NCAA championships.<\/p>\n
Photo by Mabel Cruz<\/a><\/p>\n Running has been in head coach John Sauerhage\u2019s blood since before he could drive. He equated his desire to run to the movie character Forrest Gump\u2019s.<\/p>\n \u201cI was addicted, and I liked that,\u201d he said. \u201cI got a blue ribbon when I was 12 years old, and I just loved it and I started running all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n After establishing his dominance during elementary school field days, he enrolled at Bailey Junior High School, simply because it had better sports programs, he said.<\/p>\n He has carried that passion with him to this day, spanning nearly four decades of excellence that have defined him as the longest-tenured coach in UTA history. Since 1996, he has happily embraced track and field and cross-country head coaching duties, rooted in the place that holds many of his fondest memories.<\/p>\n As a runner, Sauerhage claimed second place in the Junior Olympics and was a six-time state championship qualifier at Arlington High School. After graduating, he went to Louisiana State University to begin his collegiate athletic career.<\/p>\n In Louisiana, he placed sixth in the Southeastern Conference in the 1,000-yard run and the indoor mile. He also recorded a personal-best time of 3:45.36 in the 1,500 meters.<\/p>\n He later transferred to UTA and graduated in 1986 with a degree in physical education, but not before setting a 6,000- meter relay school record and earning a Southland Conference title.<\/p>\n Sauerhage went back to school, earning his master\u2019s degree in education in 1988 from Northeast Louisiana University, now the University of Louisiana Monroe. While studying, he began his coaching career as a graduate assistant coach.<\/p>\n 1985 Won Southland Conference indoor mile run Even with the successes of his running career, he said he fell short. He took\u00a0this notion and honed his skills to share them with the coming generations\u2019 athletes.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought I was going to go to the Olympics,\u201d Sauerhage said. \u201cWhat I didn\u2019t get accomplished in track was one of the reasons I got into coaching \u2014 I still felt like I could help people by being a coach.\u201d<\/p>\n Now, as a head coach at UTA, Sauerhage\u2019s loyalty permeates every aspect of his role, and most times, it doesn\u2019t even feel like a job, he said. Throughout his tenure, he said, he may have considered leaving but only made the move once.<\/p>\n \u201cBack then, I wanted to be the head coach at Oregon or LSU or something,\u201d Sauerhage said. \u201cBut I fell in love with being here at home with my family in Arlington and making UTA into a top-notch, mid-major track program.\u201d<\/p>\n Toward the end of his assistant coaching stint at UTA, which he assumed in 1989 for seven years, he joked about leaving Arlington to coach at UT Austin\u2019s program with Bubba Thornton, at the time Texas Christian University\u2019s sprinter coach.<\/p>\n John Sauerhage, head coach of track and field and cross country, owns multiple championship rings from titles he has won with teams throughout his career. Sauerhage has led Maverick teams to 33 conference championships.<\/p>\n
\n6th
\n2nd<\/p>\n
\nPlaced sixth in the Southeastern Conference at Louisiana State University
\nClaimed second place in the Junior Olympics<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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