POMONA – Director of Intercollegiate Athletics
Brian Swanson and Cal Poly Pomona have announced the hiring of head coach Chris Bradford to lead the Broncos' cross country and track & field programs.
Bradford comes to Cal Poly Pomona with 14 years of coaching experience, spending the last eight seasons and as the head track & field coach at Western State Colorado University where he was responsible for every aspect of the program.
During his time with the Mountaineers, Bradford's teams compiled 11 top ten finishes in the NCAA DII Championships, he coached 18 NCAA DII individual champions and 111 DII All-Americans.
"I am very excited about this opportunity at Cal Poly Pomona and I want to thank Brian and the entire CPP administration for allowing me to lead their Cross Country and Track & Field programs. CPP has a very strong tradition in Cross Country and Track & Field and my goal is to not only continue that tradition but build on it. I can't wait for my first day on campus and to get started," said Bradford.
In 2017, Bradford was named the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's Coach of the Year for the second time in his career after leading his team to a conference outdoor championship. Bradford earned his first RMAC accolades in 2015, being named both the indoor and outdoor Coach of the Year after claiming both conference titles.
"We are looking forward to Chris joining the Broncos family," said Swanson. "He has led a dynamic and nationally-recognized program and in doing so has established a team culture that expects success. His clear vision is an excellent blueprint for moving our program forward."
Bradford's teams have found success both on the track and in the classroom, being named the USTFCCCA Men's Scholar Team of the Year in 2012 and 2013. Also in 2013, Bradford's women's team won the Brechler Award for the highest GPA in the RMAC at 3.53.
Returning for Bradford and the Broncos are dynamic men's and women's cross country runners
Ruben Dominguez who had a top 25 place finish at nationals to earn All-American and
Lorraine Fernandez who currently sits sixth in the programs all-time leaderboard for the 6k.
As for the Track & Field program Bradford's inherting features numerous student athletes with conference and national honors. In men's track and field conference champion
Paul Bentz returns who earned gold in the conference for the discus along with Dominguez who punched a ticket to Nationals for track as well.
On the women's side of track and field is
Araseli Servin who set a school record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, clocking in at 10:17.55.
"I'm looking forward to picking up right where the Broncos left off last season," said Bradford. "We're going to be competitive in the field, on the track and in the classroom. I want our student-athletes to strive for success in every aspect of their experience here at Cal Poly Pomona."
Prior to Western, Bradford was the assistant track & field and cross country coach at Augustana College in South Dakota. He coached eight DII All-Americans and assisted in all aspects of the nationally ranked cross country teams.
Bradford earned a degree in Business Administration at Elmhurst College.
