Long Beach State University Athletics
49ers Announce New Track Coaches
2/24/2008 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Aug. 24, 2007
LONG BEACH - Long Beach State Director of Athletics Vic Cegles and Head Track and Field Coach Andy Sythe announced the hiring of Patrick Cunniff and Raul Sheen as assistant cross country/track and field coaches for the 49ers. Cunniff comes to Long Beach State having spent two years as an assistant at Texas Christian University and will serve as the 49ers distance coach. Sheen has spent the past three seasons at Idaho State University as an assistant coach and will be in charge of the 49er sprints, hurdles and relays.
"Our two new coaches possess the skills, knowledge, and experience to be a great asset to our program," said Sythe. "Patrick Cunniff brings a wealth of experience and a history of success to our distance program. He is committed to placing the well being of our student-athletes and their collegiate running experience high on his list of priorities. Coach Cunniff inherits a motivated group of athletes that lost several of its top runners to graduation in 2007. Under his guidance we will be capable, once again, of making our presence known at the regional and national level. As our newest sprints / hurdles coach, Raul Sheen is the right person to lead a talented group of new and returning athletes. I am convinced that under Coach Sheen's guidance, we will see our men's and women's sprinters, hurdlers, and relays teams performing well at the conference, regional, and national championship meets.
Cunniff coached six NCAA Division I National Championship qualifiers during his two years at TCU (2004-06), including three cross country student-athletes. The TCU women finished second at the Conference USA Championships in 2004 and at the '04 South Central Regional a TCU runner won the individual cross country championship. Cunniff coached 10 student-athletes to individual conference championships during his tenure (1 cross country, 6 indoor, 3 outdoor). During the spring of 2006 Cunniff served as the interim head coach at TCU. He began his coaching career as a volunteer assistant coach for women's track and cross country at the University of Texas. In his time at UT the Longhorns won the 2003 and 2004 Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships while also winning the 2003 South Central Regional Cross Country title. For the past year he has served as a program coach and team coordinator for Luke's Locker, an adult program in 5k, 10k and marathon training. Cunniff earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Georgia with a degree in political science. He was a three-year letterwinner in cross country and track for the Bulldogs.
Sheen has served as an assistant track and field coach at Idaho State since 2005 where he coached sprints, relays and middle distance runners. The Bengal women won the 2007 Big Sky Outdoor Track Championships and the men won the 2006 Big Sky Indoor title. At the '07 outdoor championships, sprinters scored 48 points (35%) of the total team points and the Bengals had six sprint entries at the 2007 NCAA West Regional Championships. Sheen coached six Big Sky Conference champions during his time and had 25 All-Big Sky Conference performers. In 2005 he was a volunteer assistant track coach at the University of New Mexico. Sheen began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Minico High School in Rupert, Idaho. From there he had his first stint at Idaho State (2001-03) as an assistant coach helping three individual sprinters and two relay teams qualify for the 2003 NCAA Division I West Regional. Sheen graduated from Idaho State in 2002 with a degree in physical education. He earned his Master's from Idaho State in 2003 in athletic administration.
