Davidson College is a private liberal arts college in Davidson, NC. The college offers 26 majors and 17 minors. About 25 percent of the student participate in 19 NCAA Division 1 Sports. One very successful sport at the school is Track & Field/Cross Country which is led by Coach Jen Straub. She is in her 19th season at Davidson and the program has been growing since she has been there. Coach Straub's 2017-18 team also excels in the classroom as well as on the field. From 2016-18, Straub's athletes combined to break 23 program records and win six individual conference championships. In four seasons in the Atlantic 10, Straub has produced 19 individual All-Conference performers on the track, nine of those being league champions.

Brian Doyle joined the Davidson cross country and track and field staff as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator in July 2015.

Molly Jones Vahrenkamp is an assistant coach for Davidson College. Jones handles the sprints, jumps, throws, hurdles, and multi-event coaching duties for the ‘Cats.

2aDays sat down with Coach Straub, Coach Doyle, and Coach Vahrenkamp to talk about what they look for in recruits. When talking to the Davidson coaching staff what stood out to us is how much the coaches care about their athletes but not only on the track but off of the track. High school athletes who are looking to play at the collegiate level should definitely look at Davidson College and their Track & Field/Cross Country program.  

* Originally published on October 8, 2018, by Makayla Binter