Over the years, Ryan Vanhoy and Greg Kraft would occasionally cross paths.
At the time, Vanhoy was the director of cross-country and track and field at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, California. Kraft, the head track and field coach at Arizona State
from 1996-2019 who guided the program to national success, lives in San Luis Obispo for part of the year — stemming from his time spent coaching at Cal Poly as well.The two weren’t best friends by any stretch of the imagination. But those conversations built over time. Little did the two know that one day Vanhoy would follow the same path as Kraft.
Vanhoy was hired as the new director of cross-country and track and field at ASU on July 27, following a successful run at Cal Poly.
“The four years I'd gotten
to know him in San Luis Obispo, it never crossed my mind once that, hey, maybe I'll be the head coach at Arizona State,” Vanhoy told The Republic. “You get to know someone and have conversations, just for the sake of having (those) conversations.”
Vanhoy is one of the most successful coaches in Cal Poly school history. At Cal Poly, Vanhoy guided the team to 12 total Big West Championships in men's and women's cross-country and track and field. He was named the Big West Coach of the Year a combined eight times.
From a distance, Kraft saw Vanhoy turn around the Cal Poly program.
“Mostly watching from afar,” Kraft said. “The bulk of the people that are involved with the program at Cal Poly as alums and fundraising are primarily distance alums. They were always speaking so highly of him, how he was conducting the program and reaching out to the alums.
"I was really impressed with the team here. Other people that were involved at Poly interacted with him a lot. They were really high on every interaction they had. It was something that was neat to watch."
Before Cal Poly, Vanhoy helped build Ole Miss into an SEC distance powerhouse. He led the Ole Miss men's cross-country team to eight NCAA championship appearances, five NCAA regional titles and the program's first two SEC team titles. He helped the Rebels place fourth at the 2016 NCAA Championships, a program best.
While ASU school officials did reach out to Kraft about Vanhoy in the hiring process, it was mostly from a general perspective, given Kraft’s history at ASU.
“It wasn't like he's my inside guy, or anything like that,” Kraft said. “It was just, I thought he did a great job, what he did at Ole Miss. That’s not an easy job. What he did there was quite eye-opening.
“I think it will be fun. I'm interested and excited to watch how the team develops. I think he's gonna bring a fresh vision and energy to the program, but it's gonna take time because some of those event areas are underwater.”
Logan Stanley is a sports reporter with The Arizona Republic who primarily focuses on high school, college and Olympic sports. To suggest ideas for human-interest stories and other news, reach out to Stanley at logan.stanley@usatodayco.com or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @RLSscribe.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: New ASU XC, track coach shares connection with Greg Kraft | Exclusive
