Courtney Babcock Position: Distance Coach Email: courtney.babcock@mso.umt.edu

The 2011-12 cross country and track seasons will be Courtney Babcock's fourth year as cross country and distance coach at Montana. She was hired in July 2009 after serving in the same role on an interim basis during the 2008-09 seasons.

Under Babcock's guidance, the Grizzlies -- particularly the women -- had one of their most successful distance campaigns in program history in 2010-11.

The monumental year started in the fall when Montana won the Big Sky Conference cross country championship, the program's first conference title since 1984.

Katrina Drennen was second overall, her fourth All-Big Sky finish, Keli Dennehy was fourth, and Babcock earned Big Sky Coach of the Year honors.

Lynn Reynolds placed fifth for the men's team for the second straight year.

During the 2011 indoor season, the Montana women broke three school records and Babcock sent her first athlete to indoor nationals.

Emily Eickholt broke the school record in the 600 meters (1:35.21), Drennen set a new standard for the mile (4:39.82), and the distance medley relay team set a new record (11:36.27) and gave Montana its fourth straight Big Sky title in the event.

Drennen won her second straight Big Sky 3,000 meters title and advanced to nationals in College Station, Texas, where she earned second-team All-America honors with a 12th place finish in the mile.

Montana broke three more school records during the outdoor season: Drennen in the 1,500 meters (4:15.34), Kara DeWalt in the steeplechase (10:11.44) and the team's 4x800-meter relay team (8:56.59).

DeWalt gave Montana its first women's steeplechase champion at the Big Sky championships, and both DeWalt, in the steeplechase, and Drennen, in the 1,500 meters, advanced to outdoor nationals.

DeWalt and Drennen also represented Montana at the 2011 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Eugene, Ore.

A native of Chatham, Ontario, Babcock is a 1996 graduate of Michigan. While competing for the Wolverines from 1992-96 she was a one-time NCAA champion (distance medley relay, 1994 NCAA indoor championships), an eight-time All-America in indoor and outdoor distance events, a member of four Big Ten championship teams and a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection.

She was inducted into the Michigan Women's Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2004. (Note: Babcock's late father, Larry, was inducted into the Michigan Hockey Hall of Fame in 1970. He played center for the Wolverines for three seasons [1960-61 to 1962-63], captaining the team his senior year, and was a Montreal Canadians draft pick.)

Babcock moved to Missoula in 1997 to train and compete with the Mountain West Track Club.

Between 2001 and 2003, Babcock won four titles at the annual Canadian Championships, winning two in the 5,000 meters and two in the 10,000 meters.

She had her most successful season of racing in 2003, posting Canadian national records in the 5,000 meters at the IAAF World Championships in Paris, France, and the 10,000 meters at the Cardinal Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif.

Babcock's 5,000-meter time of 14:54.98 placed her eighth at Worlds; her 10,000-meter time of 31:44.76 broke a 15-year-old national record.

Babcock followed her World Championships performance with a 4:01.99 1,500 meters a week later in Brussels, Belgium, the third-fastest 1,500-meter time in Canadian history.

Babcock competed for Canada in both the 1,500 and 5,000 meters at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.

She and her husband, Miles Key, have two sons, Ridley and Hudson.

Babcock's Coaching Resume

USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships qualifiers
2011: Kara DeWalt (steeplechase), Katrina Drennen (1,500m)

NCAA Cross Country Championships qualifiers
2009: Katrina Drennen

NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships qualifiers
2011: Katrina Drennen (mile)

NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships qualifiers
2011: Kara DeWalt (steeplechase), Katrina Drennen (1,500m)
2010: Katrina Drennen (1,500m)

Big Sky Conference Cross Country Championships
2010 women: 1st ... All-Big Sky: Katrina Drennen (2nd), Keli Dennehy (4th)
2010 men: 8th ... All-Big Sky: Lynn Reynolds (5th)
2009 women: 3rd ... All-Big Sky: Katrina Drennen (3rd), Kesslee Payne (7th)
2009 men: 3rd ... All-Big Sky: Lynn Reynolds (5th)
2008 women: 5th ... All-Big Sky: Katrina Drennen (3rd)
2008 men: 4th

Big Sky Conference indoor champions
2011: Katrina Drennen (3,000m), distance medley relay (Payne, Moore, Grey, Drennen)
2010: Katrina Drennen (3,000m), distance medley relay (DeWalt, Clark, Andrus, Payne)
2009: Distance medley relay (DeWalt, Sullivan, Andrus, Drennen)

Big Sky Conference outdoor champions
2011: Kara DeWalt (steeplechase)