Kate Bucknam

Biography

Features (click on headline for link) Coaching is in Bucknam's Blood (K-State Sports Extra, August 29, 2024) Kate Bucknam was announced as the head cross country coach and assistant track and field coach by Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Travis Geopfert on August 2, 2024. During the 2024 cross country season, she worked with a team with 12 returners and 10 freshmen. Tommy Hazen made his mark on the K-State all-time top-25, landing at no. 9 in both the men’s 8k (24:12.8) and 10k (30:38.9). During the indoor track season Hazen broke the 3,000 meter school record with a time of 8:03.77 and outdoor he competed at the NCAA West Preliminary in the 3,000 meter steeplechase for a consecutive season. Bucknam joins the Wildcats after spending the last seven seasons at Belmont, where she worked with the men’s and women’s cross country/track and field teams. The women’s cross country team claimed two conference titles in three years – the 2023 Missouri Valley Conference, in the Bruins’ second year in the conference, and the 2021 Ohio Valley Conference title. Last season, Bucknam coached Kaitlyn Vanderkolk to NCAA South All-Region honors with a top-20 finish, qualifying her for the NCAA Championship. “Early in her career Coach Bucknam has already proven herself a quality leader,” Geopfert said. “She has led her cross country programs at Belmont to two different conference championships in both the Ohio Valley and Missouri Valley Conferences. Her knowledge of training and unders