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Kansas City Athletics Announces Reinstatement of Cross Country
4/21/2021 6:45:00 PM | Cross Country
Benaud Shirley to lead team as head coach
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Kansas City Athletics has announced that both its Men's and Women's Cross-Country teams will be reinstated for the 2021-22 academic year. The reinstatement is the first step to bringing back the full men's and women's track and field program that were suspended in October of 2020. Benaud Shirley has been hired to head up the program.
"I'm honored to welcome Head Coach Benaud Shirley back to our KC Athletics family. I'm thoroughly convinced that under Coach Shirley's leadership, our cross-country program will transition from reinstatement to high performance in short order. I'm thrilled to bring back this competitive opportunity for our current and future XC student-athletes," Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics Brandon Martin said.
Each team will begin competing in the fall of 2021. Shirley will begin immediately building the teams.
"I am very excited about the return of the cross-country programs and want to thank Dr. Martin for his faith in my leadership," Shirley said. "It's been a challenging time for the student-athletes, but I'm ecstatic for the opportunity that this poses for them."
About Kansas City Athletics
The Kansas City Roos are the NCAA Division I teams of the University of Missouri-Kansas City, providing energy, excitement and a rallying point for campus and community. UMKC, one of four University of Missouri universities, is a public university serving more than 16,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. UMKC engages with the greater Kansas City area to promote exceptional student success, conduct impactful research, and elevate our region's economy and workforce while fostering an environment welcoming to all. For more information, visit KCRoos.com or follow us on social media with the handle @KCRoosAthletics. For more information about UMKC, visit umkc.edu.
