Wes Penberthy was hired to lead the cross country and track programs at PBA in January of 2022.
Penberthy led the men's and women's cross country teams in eight meets each this season. The women's team finished third at the Sunshine State Conference Tournament while the men's side took fourth place. Both teams went to the NCAA South Regional where the men finished 10th and the women missed a NCAA National berth by one spot as they finished fourth.Â
In his second season on the track, program records were set in the women's 10,000 meter, and men's 100 and 200 meter.
Under Penberthy's first track season, the Sailfish broke school track records in the men's 100m, 200m, 800m, 1500m, 4x400m, and 10k. The Sailfish also set school track records in the women's 800m, 1500m, 4x400m, and the 10k.
Penberthy made history in his first year leading PBA's cross country programs. He led the women's cross country team to its first SSC team conference championship in 2022, with PBA runner Dune Costes winning the individual championship. Penberthy earned Coach of the year honors, but the historic season did not stop there. The women's team earned its first trip to NCAA nationals in program history where the team finished 25th; the first top-25 national ranking in program history.
The men's cross country team also improved in Penberthy's first season. The team totaled four top-five finishes, including a fifth-place finish at the SSC championships, tying the best finish in program history.Â
- 1 SSC Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year Award (2022)
- 1 SSC Women's Cross Country SSC Championship (2022)
- 1 SSC Women's Cross Country Individual Champion (2022)
- 1 SSC Women's Cross Country Runner of the Year Honoree (2022)
- 1 SSC Women's Cross Country Freshman of the Year (2023)
- 9 All-SSCÂ Cross Country Honorees
- 2 SSC Runners of the Week
- 3 CSC Academic All-District Honorees
Penberthy took over at PBA after several years of coaching at the NCAA DI level. Before joining the Sailfish, Penberthy was an assistant coach specializing in distance events since July 2021 at UT-Rio Grande Valley. Before UTRGV, Penberthy held the same role at Georgia Southern from 2018-21. In his time at Georgia Southern, he trained three All-Sun Belt first-team honorees and trained the Eagles’ first outdoor Sun Belt Champion in program history in the 5k. Georgia Southern broke seven school records while Penberthy was on staff.
Before his stint with the Eagles, Penberthy was a volunteer at the University of Oklahoma for the 2017-18 school year. He also has ties in Florida and the Sunshine State Conference, serving as a volunteer coach for the Florida Southern program during the 2016-17 school year. Penberthy has some head coaching experience at the high school level. He led two separate periods as the head coach of the cross country and track program at Evangelical Christian School in Fort Myers, Fla. totaling four years.
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