BISMARCK, ND – A familiar face will join forces with a new voice to command the University of Mary track & field and cross country programs. Cale Korbelik removes the interim tag from his title and is now the Marauders head men's and women's track & field coach. Christopher Lessard joins UMary as the head men's and women's cross country coach and assistant track & field coach.

"We are extremely excited to bring Chris to UMary and elevate Cale to lead our cross country and track & field scholar-athletes," said Marauders Interim Athletic Director Dan Huntley. "Cale has proven over the past year that he can lead our track and field teams to great success on and off the field and we have confidence that he will be a great mentor to these men and women in the future.

"We also have great confidence in Chris that he will help develop our distance programs and continue to develop nationally competitive men's and women's teams into the future. Both are young and bright coaches here at the right time to build their legacy together, one that follows in paths of our previous head coaches, Mike Thorson and Dennis Newell."

"We have more national champions from these two programs than any other sport in our history — they're not only champions in sport, but champions in the classroom, and more importantly, champions of character," stated University of Mary Executive Vice President Jerome Richter. "Cale Korbelik and Chris Lessard are a dynamic pair of young coaches who we feel are great fits to continue that incredible tradition, legacy, and success we've experienced with our cross country and track & field teams. We know great coaching plays a very influential role in the successful development of the scholar-athlete as they help them train, diet, and form the whole person into what God meant them to be — virtuous leaders."
 

As interim head coach for the 2021-22 track & field season, Cale Korbelik worked with the Marauders sprinters, hurdlers, and relay teams. The women's track & field teams tallied two national championships by D'Andra Morris, seven All-American honors, four NSIC individual champions and 16 All-NSIC performances plus a runner-up team finish at the NSIC indoor championships. The men's team had two NSIC individual champions this season, three All-NSIC performances, sent a scholar-athlete to the NCAA championships for the first time in three seasons and improved to a 4^th place finish at the NSIC indoor championships.

"It is an extreme honor to be named the head track and field coach for our men's and women's program," said Korbelik. "In my time at the University of Mary I have learned a great deal on what it takes to serve in this position from Coach Dennis Newell and Coach Mike Thorson. I spent the last season as the interim head coach, and it allowed me to gain the experience I needed to take on this role in a permanent capacity. I will always continue to learn and grow so I can serve our university and student-athletes to the highest level.

"We have a special opportunity to build a program of virtue and find success by doing the right thing, at the right time, with the right people. I am eager to start this journey with our new head cross country coach and work together to reach our goals as an overall team. Chris Lessard is going to do great things for our program and build the best environment possible for virtuous success."

In his first season at UMary in 2020-21, Korbelik coached the sprints, hurdles, relays, javelin, and high jump and was the recruiting coordinator in his first season at UMary as he worked alongside Marauders head coach Dennis Newell.  Individually he coached two All-Americans, three NCAA championship qualifiers, three NSIC champions and seven All-NSIC performers. In addition to winning the 2021 NSIC women's outdoor championship, the Marauders finished 15^th in the nation indoors and 8^th outdoors at the NCAA women's championships.

Korbelik joined UMary after coaching at Buena Vista University (2019-20) and Whitworth University (2017-19). He earned his master's degree in administrative and non-profit leadership at Whitworth as he helped the Pirates win the 2018 Northwest cross country conference championship and finish ninth at the 2019 NCAA Division III women's outdoor championships.

A 2017 Northwest Missouri State University graduate, Korbelik was a dual sport athlete for the Bearcats. A sprinter who ran on the school's record-setting distance medley relay team, Korbelik also played football on the 2013 Bearcats NCAA Division II championship team.
 

Chris Lessard arrives at UMary following an impressive coaching progression over the last four seasons. Serving as the NCAA Division I New Jersey Institute of Technology Cross Country/Distance Coach for the 2021-22 season, his men's and women's cross country scholar-athletes all posted personal records by the end of the season while over 15 school records were set during the indoor track season in the middle-distance and distance events.

"I am extremely excited about the opportunity to lead the University of Mary cross country team and the mid-distance and distance student-athletes on the track," said Lessard. "UMary has an incredibly rich history of success, and I am fortunate to be able to lead them alongside Coach Korbelik. I am looking forward to getting to know all of the student-athletes and getting started over the next few weeks. I would like to thank Coach Korbelik, Dan Huntley, Jerome Richter and Monsignor Shea for the opportunity to work, grow, and spread our Greatness Through Virtue plan!"

During the 2020-21 season, Lessard was the assistant cross country and track coach plus recruiting coordinator at West Texas A&M. He helped coach 23 national qualifiers for a powerful Buffs program that placed third at both the men's and women's 2021 NCAA Division II indoor championships. He co-managed all aspects of the men's and women's programs, including training design, scheduling, travel, recruiting, scholarships, budgeting and ordering for WTAMU.

In his lone season at Southwest Baptist University in 2019-20 as the assistant cross country and indoor track coach and recruiting coordinator, the women's team finished 20^th in the NCAA Division II cross country championships with two Bearcats earning All-American honors as Lessard strategized the team's race execution. In the program's 1^st season racing in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, the women's team placed second indoors, and the men captured 3^rd.

Lessard started his collegiate coaching career at Chabot College in 2018-19, where he helped facilitate the annual San Francisco Distance Carnival Meet and coached several scholar-athletes to the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) state championships in distance events (800, 3k, 5k, 10K, Steeplechase).

A 2018 graduate of California State University, East Bay with a bachelor of philosophy degree, Lessard ran cross country and track for the Pioneers and was an intern in the CSUEB athletics compliance department. He also ran collegiately for Central Arizona College. Lessard is currently completing a master's degree from WTAMU in exercise science and sports management.

Lessard inherits a UMary women's cross country program that finished 10^th at the 2021 NCAA Division II championships last fall. The Marauders men's team placed 2^nd at the 2021 NSIC championships, a program-best finish.

Overall, the Marauders men's and women's cross country and track & field programs have claimed 56 conference team championships over the last 29 years.

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