St. Cloud State Track & Field/Cross Country Adds Connar Southard as Assistant Coach
8/20/2026 11:43:00 AM | Women's Cross Country, Men's Cross Country, Women's Track & Field
Former D-II national champion joins staff as distance coach after one season at Fort Scott Community College (Kan.)
ST. CLOUD, Minn. – St. Cloud State Track & Field/Cross Country head coach Gabrielle Brown announced the addition of Connar Southard as an assistant coach ahead of the 2026-27 academic year. Southard, a former D-II national champion, joins the Huskies staff as the distance coach and will also oversee the strength & conditioning for the track & field and cross country programs.
"I am thrilled to welcome Connar to the Husky family," said Brown. "He brings a tremendous amount of experience as a former student-athlete and coach, and his passion for developing distance runners and building strong teams really stood out to me throughout the process. I'm excited about the energy, knowledge and perspective he will bring to our staff and I know he will have a positive impact on our student-athletes both on and off the course/track"
"I am excited for the opportunity that Coach Brown has given me to join the Husky family," said Southard. "I look forward to being a great addition to the staff. I would like to thank Fort Scott CC, Northwood University and the University of Central Missouri for being wonderful places to learn and grow. I hope to bring all of my experiences to help the program continue to grow into the competitive team that Coach Brown envisions."
Southard comes to St. Cloud after spending last year as the head cross country coach and assistant track & field coach at Fort Scott Community College (Kan.) (2025-26). Prior to Fort Scott, Southard spent a year as an assistant track & field and cross country coach at D-II Northwood (Mich.) (2024-25) where his athletes achieved 14 new top 10 all-time marks on the track. He also coached Northwood's first NCAA Division II provisional national qualifying mark on the women's distance side in over 10 years.
Southard began his coaching career at fellow NCAA Central Region school and Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) member, Central Missouri, spending two years (2022-24) as a graduate assistant coach for the track & field and cross country programs. In his first year at UCM, he coached five new top 10 program performances on the track and mentored an All-MIAA performer in the 800m. In his second year, he assisted in coaching two All-Central Region honorees, including one athlete who qualified as an individual for the NCAA Division-II National Championships.
Before starting his coaching career, Southard was a decorated student-athlete at another central region school and MIAA member, Pittsburg State (Kan.). A five-year member of the track & field and cross country programs, he was a 13-time All-MIAA selection, three-time All-American, a national champion and part of the Gorillas 2022 NCAA Division-II Outdoor National Championship team. His collegiate highlights include winning a national title in the distance medley relay (DMR) at the 2021 NCAA Indoor Championships and setting multiple program records. Southard graduated as the program's record holder in the 1,500m (3:42.90) and the DMR (9:37.45), with the latter ranking as the second-fastest time in NCAA Division II history at the time it was run. He also finished among Pittsburg State's all-time top 10 in the indoor mile (2nd – 4:07.97), indoor 800m (4th – 1:52.55) and outdoor 800m (10th – 1:52.20).
A Pittsburg, Kansas native, Southard earned his bachelor's degree in exercise science with minors in public health and psychology from Pittsburg State in 2022 and his master's degree in kinesiology from Central Missouri in 2024.
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