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John Sauerhage, head coach of cross country, took over the men\u2019s and women\u2019s programs in 1995.<\/p>\n
File photo \/ Mabel Cruz<\/p>\n
In April, UTA announced the retirement of longtime cross-country and track and field head coach John Sauerhage, and immediately, its social media accounts were flooded with warm wishes from his former runners and their family members. Yet, when cross-country practice started this week, leading the team was none other than Sauerhage.<\/p>\n
Sauerhage will continue running the cross-country program in 2026 while becoming the track and field assistant coach, focusing on long-distance runners.<\/p>\n
Sauerhage said he sees managing just long-distance runners as a part-time job compared to the hefty requirements of his former role running what he described as six sports: both men\u2019s and women\u2019s cross-country, as well as indoor and outdoor track and field for both genders.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just taking a step back from being responsible for the entire program,\u201d Sauerhage said. \u201cI can just coach the distance runners and have a teeny bit more free time than I used to have. It\u2019ll still be a lot of responsibility managing a group of athletes, so I\u2019m looking forward to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the retirement announcement was made, it seemed the Mavericks\u2019 longest-tenured active head coach was taking a deserved rest. After taking the reins of both the cross-country and track and field programs in 1995, Sauerhage led his programs to 33 conference titles and coached 45 All-Americans and 63 NCAA championship qualifiers.<\/p>\n
Brandon Berger, Sauerhage\u2019s second-in-command since 2012 and a former runner of his in the late 90s, was announced in April as his collegiate coach\u2019s successor as track and field head coach.<\/p>\n
Sauerhage also said he\u2019s confident in Berger\u2019s ability to run the track and field program. The veteran coach said that in his new assistant role in the spring, he doesn\u2019t plan to challenge his successor on issues but instead be there when advice is needed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re trying to put a winning track team and cross-country team out on the field, and this is a step in the right direction,\u201d Sauerhage said.<\/p>\n
Sauerhage\u2019s cross-country runners said they were glad to see him return, with junior Toby Eaton saying it didn\u2019t entirely surprise him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis heart belongs to UTA and to the sport,\u201d Eaton said. \u201cI\u2019m just excited to have him coaching us again this next year.\u201d<\/p>\n
On his eventual true retirement, Sauerhage said there\u2019s no date by which he\u2019s specifically thought about hanging up the whistle for good. The Arlington native and Maverick alumnus says he has no plans to leave soon.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt this point, we\u2019re just going to do this one year at a time and see how it goes,\u201d Sauerhage said. \u201cI\u2019m committed to this year 100%. If they want me back next year, we\u2019ll talk about it later, but right now, my focus is just on getting this cross-country team ready for the conference meet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sauerhage and his team open the season at the John McKenzie Invitational, hosted by Texas Christian University on Sept. 4 in Fort Worth.<\/p>\n
@TyRoland06<\/p>\n