Middle Tennessee State University Women's Cross Country

Keith Vroman is entering his 17th season at Middle Tennessee and his fourth season as head coach of both Cross Country and Track and Field. Vroman is currently in his 21st year of coaching and brings with him the experience of two distance-running programs steeped in tradition - Eastern Kentucky and Grand Valley State. After a year of uncertainty dealing with Covid-19 in 2020, Coach Vroman had both the men's and women's cross country teams competing at the highest level possible in 2021 taking first place for both men and women. Vroman earned his sixth and seventh CUSA Cross Country Championship to go along with 14 awards/All-Conference nods. Vroman earned both Coach of the Year awards for sweeping the championship titles, putting him at seven CUSA Coach of the Year honors since joining the Blue Raiders. Most recently named All-American in 2022 and 2023 was the Ondo, Nigeria native Alaba Akintola. Vroman helped coach Akintola to two record best times in program history in both the 60-meter and 200-meter. Vroman's experience in distance running has helped the Blue Raider cross country teams make great strides in recent years as the men's team advanced to its first-ever NCAA National Championships in 2016. The Ludington, Mich., native earned his bachelor's in physical education, his master's in health education and an M.S. in sports administration at Eastern Kentucky, where he competed in cross country and the steeplechase.

Coach Owusu is entering his 19th season with Middle Tennessee's track and field program. He is a USATF certified coach and has assisted MTSU's track and field teams as a coach, starting under former MTSU coach, Dean Hayes. His primary areas of focus are the horizontal jumps and the high jump. In 2022, three jumpers coached by Owusu earned a total of five All-American honors. Erhire Best earned two honors in the men's high jump, Esther Isa earned two honors in women's triple jump, and Abigail Kwarteng earned honors after becoming the national runner-up in the women's high jump. Outside the context of the university, Owusu served as a national team coach for Ghana at multiple Olympic Games; 2012 (London, UK), 2016 (Rio, Brazil) and, 2020 (Tokyo, Japan). At the 2020-21 Olympic Games in Japan, Owusu coached Ghana's 4X100m men's relay team to the final while setting a new national record of 38.08 seconds in the process. Owusu's accomplishments as an athlete are equally as impressive. He is a three time Olympian (Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004), a two time World Championships' finalist (Athens 1997, Paris 2003), the 1996 NCAA Division I ITF National Champion in the long jump, an eight time All American in the long and triple jump (1992-1996), the 1998 Commonwealth Games Silver Medalist, a four time African Champion in the Triple Jump (1998, 1999, 2000, 2003), and the current African Championships triple jump record holder since 1998. Dr. Owusu is a tenured full Professo

Raymond Bonner, a product of Franklin County High School in Winchester, Tenn., was one of the first two African-Americans that Coach Charles "Bubber" Murphy signed to football scholarships in 1969. Bonner started at cornerback for four years, and was part of Middle Tennessee's memorable "Mod Squad" defensive backfield that gave opponents fits around the Ohio Valley Conference. In his junior season, Bonner was given the added duty of returning punts full-time. In 1971, Bonner returned 31 punts for 219 yards and two touchdowns. His 7.1 yds/return average ranked third in the nation, and his pair of TD returns is the school record for both a single season and a career. Because of his blazing speed and athletic ability, Bonner was never beaten deep on a pass play during his career. He was named All-OVC in 1972 and an Outstanding College Athlete of America in 1973. His 4.45 time in the 40-yard dash, and his ability to return punts got Bonner drafted in the 10th round of the 1973 draft by the Detroit Lions, but a suspected heart murmur ended his football-playing career. Following his playing career, Bonner enlisted in the United States Navy, serving from 1973-1976 and was honorably discharged as a Supply Petty Officer. Bonner then received his first head coaching job as Columbia High School in Decatur, Georgia, where he was the head football, track and basketball coach. After serving in that role for seven years, Bonner became the assistant head football coach and head track coach a