Current time in Baltimore 9:39 p.m. Tuesday, August 19, 2008
| ||||||||||||||
Rick Woods is now in his fourth season as the head cross country coach and director of track and field at Loyola College. Woods, who served two seasons as an assistant with the Greyhounds, has continually progressed the program in his time at the helm.
In his first season as the Greyhounds' leader, Woods guided the women's cross country team to a third place finish at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championships while helping the men's squad to a fourth-place standing. In Year Two, Woods guided the women to a runner-up finish at the MAAC Championships while mentoring Caitlin Dunne to an individual championship at the conference meet. Dunne and Andrea Rovegno also earned all-region honors with Top-15 showings at the Mid-Atlantic Regionals in mid-November. Last season Rovegno again gained all NCAA Regional recognition and a Top-20 finish at the prestigious Brooks pre-nationals meet in Terra Haute, Indiana.
Woods arrived at Loyola in 2002 and helped lead the women's cross country squad to team titles at the Cross Country-Only National Championships and the Maryland State Collegiate Cross Country Championship while helping the men's squad finish third at the Cross Country-Only National Championships. In 2003, Woods coached the women's squad to a MAAC conference win and a repeat title at the Maryland State Championships. In 2006 he saw the men win the Gettysburg Invitational while both the men and women finished fourth in a very tough conference meet. Woods also led the `Hounds during their inaugural women's track and field campaign in 2004 and assisted coach Brett Harvey with a fourth place finish at the MAAC championships.
Prior to Loyola, Woods was an assistant coach with a highly successful cross country team at Anne Arundel Community College in Arnold, Maryland, where he helped the men's and women's teams earn Top-10 finishes at the Junior College National Championships. He also served as the head indoor and outdoor track and field coach at South River High School for two seasons where he developed several regional champions and top state finalists. Holding an NFHSA officials' certification, Woods also officiates at many high school and college events in cross country and track and field. He is also a member of the Maryland Officials Club, USA Track and Field and is a certified Level II USA Track and Field coach.
A graduate of Bel Air High School in Harford County, Maryland, Woods led his team to numerous county championships. His career continued at Frostburg State College in western Maryland and lettered in cross country, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field. He graduated in 1977 with a degree in Health and Physical Education and went on to serve three years of active duty in the United States Army before pursuing a career in Nuclear Health Physics. Woods has continued his competitive running and road racing career by qualifying for and competing in the U.S. National Triathlon Championships in Las Vegas, finishing in the top 10 percent of his field. He is currently a member of the Annapolis Striders running club and continues to run and volunteer his assistance at a number of the Striders' annual road races.
Away from Loyola, Woods is employed by Constellation Energy and is responsible for emergency preparedness program activities at the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant. He has been married to his wife, Jamie, for 26 years and their son, Rick, Jr., recently graduated from UMBC with a degree in Computer Science.
