Track and Field to be Added to BC Sports Teams

Just a year after adding wrestling and competitive cheer, Bluefield College will be adding yet another sport to its list of athletic offerings: track and field for both men and women.

In a statement to the BC Office of Public Relations, Athletic Director Mike White said, “This addition will strengthen our department in many ways. We are excited to offer men’s and women’s track and field to bring our sports total to 18 here at Bluefield College.”

Among the sports currently offered at BC are men’s baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, co-ed cheer, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s football, men’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, women’s softball, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s volleyball, and men’s wrestling. Men’s and women’s track and field will bring the school’s total number of intercollegiate athletic offerings to 18.

Bluefield College competes in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) in all sports except football. Twelve AAC schools sport men’s track and field teams, while 14 schools compete in women’s track and field.

Serving as the inaugural coach of the men’s and women’s track and field teams will be Kendall Haynes, a Bluefield College alumnus who also coaches the BC cross country teams.

“I plan to do this by first having a firm Christ-centered foundation from the start of the programs,” said Coach Haynes in remarks for a BC press release. “The main focus can’t be just running, jumping, or throwing. I want to prepare my athletes to go out and have success in all aspects of life. If I am not helping the athletes grow in faith and in life to succeed, I am not doing my job.”

A 2018 Bluefield College graduate who also ran cross country for BC, Haynes led this year’s Rams cross country teams to the National Christian College Athletic Association’s National Meet — a first for both the men’s and women’s squads. A teacher education major, he also won the 2018 Student Teacher Award presented by the BC School of Education.