Bio

In the Fall of 2021, Coach Rieth took over the track and field leadership role to be the head coach of both cross country and track and field at Cowley. Following one of the most respected coaches in the JUCO world of track and field and recent Track and Field Hall of Fame inductee Coach Mark Phillips. In the Fall, the Tiger men’s cross country team finished what they had set out to do the year before and won the program’s second national title, the first since 2010—highlighted with Adrian Diaz-Lopez and Amos Pkiach finishing first and second at the national meet.  Along the way, they also captured the region and conference championships as well. Even while graduating 80% of the championship team from last year, our Lady Tigers also continued their success. Winning the program’s fifth straight conference championship and fourth consecutive region championship while finishing fourth at the national meet. The team's success continued onto the track for the 2022 season with Adrian shattering two 15 year old school records in the mile (4:07) and 3k (8:01) and was eventually crowned the national champion in the 3k, even after falling earlier in the race. During outdoor, both men and women were crowned conference champions, which had not happened in the program since 2011. Six school records also fell, and there was a national champion from each coach's event group, which is believed to be a program first.

During the Fall of 2020, while battling the uncertainty of Covid-19, the Cowley Tigers had a season to remember. Both the women and men were region and conference champions the first time in 10 years. The women also went on to become the JUCO Division II national champions, while the men finished third. Lubna Suied led the way for the women by winning the program’s first individual national championship in XC. Newcomers Adrian Diaz-Lopez and Amos Pkiach finished 2^nd and 3^rd , which spearheaded a national resurgence for the Tiger men. Rieth was named the USTFCCA Central Region COY for both men and women. 

In the Fall of 2019, Rieth began his first full season at Cowley and has kept the ball rolling. The Lady Tigers repeated as Region VI champions and won their third straight conference championship. Rieth was named the 2019 Women’s Region VI Cross Country Coach of the Year and 2019 Coach of the Champions, as well as being named the 2019 USTFCCCA Women’s Cross Country Central Region Coach of the Year.
In his short time at Cowley, Rieth coached Sasha Elizondo to 8 x All-American performances, 7 x Region Champion, 14 x All-Region stand out performers and two school records (indoor 1,000-meter run and mile run).

Before Cowley, Rieth spent four years as the head coach at Colby Community College and watched a resurgence on the NJCAA national scene for both programs. While at Colby, both teams combined success gained attention from the JUCO world, with the Trojans starting the 2017-2018 season on a historic note. The Lady Trojans repeated as conference champions while upsetting the No. 2 nationally ranked team to win their first Region VI championship since 1999 and finished sixth in the country. The men won the conference championship for the first time since 2014 and finished runner-up twice in a very competitive Region VI, also finishing twice in the top 10 nationally.

Through the Lady Trojan’s efforts during the 2017 season, Coach Rieth was named USTFCCCA NJCAA Central Region Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year and the 2017 Region VI Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year and Coach of the Champions. While at Colby, Rieth recruited and coached Nehemia Too and Wesley Banguria-Kiptoo, who went on to have two of the most successful JUCO careers in recent memory, having won seven individual national championships collectively while shattering the Colby school record book and setting a couple regional and national records. Both went on to run and become All-American runners at Iowa State. Dustin Nading also ran for Coach Cam at Colby; he went on to be a stand out star in D-2 (Western Oregon), then later at the University of Washington.  Winning 4 National D-2 titles and breaking the 4-minute mile barrier.  He also coached and recruited Winnie Kibet and Aileen Gurrola,  who both went on to become two of the best women distance runners in program history, having broken 6 x School records, earning 14 x All-American and 25 x All-Region honors between the two of them. 

Rieth brings a deep passion for the sport and helping young athletes, as well as a wealth of knowledge at the mid to long-distance events and cross country. Having gone the JUCO route himself, he truly appreciates the opportunities the junior college world brings to incoming athletes. Before coaching in JUCO, Rieth spent four years as an assistant at his alma mater Fort Hays State (D-2).

Rieth graduated from Garden City Community College (KS) in 2009 with an associate’s degree. Afterward, he went to Fort Hays State University, where he earned two bachelor's degrees in Health and Human Performance (2013) and Education (2014).

BY THE NUMBERS: 

TEAM

2: Team National Championship 

6: Team Region VI Championships 

11: Team Conference Championships 

3: Team National Podium Finishes 

2: Team Region VI Runner up Finishes

11: Team Region VI Podium Finishes 

12: Team Top 10 National Finishes 

INDIVIDUALS

4: USTFCCCA JUCO National Athletes of the Year

10: USTFCCCA JUCO Regional Athletes of the Year

10: Individual National Champions 

10: Individual National Runner Ups 

85: All-Americans

3: Region VI Top Point Scorers 

238: All-Region VI Performers (27 Champions) 

338: All-Conference Performers (39 Champions) 

35: School Records Broken 

COACHING

2: National XC Coach of the Year 

5: USTFCCCA JUCO XC Central Region CYO 

2: Region VI XC Coach of the Year 

2 USTFCCCA Central Region Assistant Track COY 

3: NJCAA National Academic Team of the Year