Parker Cowles joined the South Alabama cross country/track & field program on Sept. 14, 2017. He serves as the head coach of both the Jaguar men’s and women’s cross country teams and as an assistant coach with the track and field team developing the distance runners.
Since taking over the cross country program, Cowles has had 13 male runners (2 first team, 7 second team and 4 third team) earn all-conference honors, while 11 female runners (5 first team, 1 second team and 5 third team ) have been named to one of the all-conference teams.
On the women's side, there have been seven Sun Belt Runner of the Week selections highlighted by Carolien Millenaar's five, the most of any female cross country runner. Two runners on the men's side have also taken home weekly league accolades for a total of six, led by Kirami Yego's four, three of which came during the 2021 season.
The three ROTW honors that fall marked the most by a Sun Belt runner since Louisiana’s Stanley Limoh (2017) and made himone of three runners in program history to receive the honor three or more times in a season (Micah Tirop – 2008) and Vincent Rono (2005). He is one of only five runners at South to receive the honor three or more times in their career (Tirop [8], Rono [6], Samson Kipchirchir [4] and Tonny Okello [3]).
As a team, the South Alabama women have finished inside the top 3 in three of Cowles' five seasons at the helm, placing second at the 2019 championship event. The men have made two NCAA regional appearances, while the women have once.
Kirami Yego continued to lead the way in 2021 as he became the first male cross country runner to capture a Sun Belt Conference individual title since the 2014 season, while also earning first-team all-league honors for the second straight year. Also earning all-conference honors on the men's side were Onesmus Kemboi (men - second-team) and Adele Maguad (women - first-team).
Following the SBC championship performance, Yego became one of eight runners in program history to advance to the NCAA Championships and the 15th overall appearance by a male runner after finishing eighth at the NCAA South Region Championships.
The 2020 campaign saw both the women's and men's cross country programs have success under Cowles direction. Millenaarbecame the fourth female to win individual honors as she crossed the line with a personal-best time of 17:12.6, five seconds faster than the next closest runner. During the spring, Millenaarbecame just the second female runner and first since Laura Martin in 1997 to compete at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.Along with Millenaar, Silje Linstad and Susanna Pudner also turned in third-team all-league performances, placing 13th and 15th respectively.
The Jaguar menplaced five runners inside the top 11 spots to pick up the program's ninth Sun Belt titleand first since 2014 at the league's championship event.Kirami Yego paced the men's team finishing third overall (24:39.1) earning first-team Sun Belt all-conference honors. Yego was joined by four other teammates who also earned all-conference honors: Onesmus Kemboi (second team), Thomas Sand (second team), Warno Potgieter (second team) and Nate Pudner (third team). Yego was named the SBC Freshman and Newcomer of the Year, while Cowleswas selected as the conference's coach of the year, marking the eighth selection for the honor in program history.
Along with the second-place finish at the conference championship, meet three Jaguar women (Andonet Cheruiyot (first team), Millenaar (second team) and Silje Lindstad (third team) earned all-Sun Belt honors.On the men's side, Kemboi was a USTFCCCA all-region selection, and was named the conference'snewcomer of the year, after also earning second-team all-league honors.
Cheruiyotearned first-team all-conference honors at the 2018 league championship meet, finishing secondless than four seconds behind SBC championLeslie Romero with a time of 17:26.36. Potgieter also earned all-league honors (second team) with his sixth-place finish at the meet.
In 2017,his first season at the helm, Labuschaignebecamethe first South Alabama women's cross country runner to win a league title in 20 years (Martin[1997]). That season, both Millenaar and Nicole Van Der Merwe also earned third-team all-SBC honors.
Cowlesarrived in Mobile after seven years of collegiate coaching experience, the last as an assistant coach for the track and field and cross country teams at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley working with the middle and long distance student-athletes.
In his year at UTRGV, Cowles coached two Western Athletic Conference champions, Jennifer Zapata and Krysta Martinez, each of whom also set individual UTRGV records (Zapata in the 3,000 meter steeplechase and Martinez in the 1,500 meter run). Cowles also coached the women’s 4 x 100m distance medley relay team to its fastest time in program history.
Before arriving in Edinburg, Texas, Cowles held coaching positions at the United States Air Force Academy, Barton County Community College and Idaho State University.
During the 2015-16 season – his only season coaching at the Air Force Academy – Cowles served as the track and field team’s Director of Operations. He was responsible for home meet planning and execution, and managed team logistics to include travel and coordination of training schedules. He also advised the Head Cross Country coach on aspects pertaining to cadet military life and assisted with administering workouts as needed. With his assistance, the men’s team won the Mountain West Cross Country championship and each of the men’s and women’s programs posted a NCAA Division I Cross Country All American.
Prior to his time at Air Force, Cowles spent two seasons at Barton County Community College in Great Bend, Kansas, as a cross country coach and track and field assistant coach. While there, he developed the women’s 2014 NJCAA Cross Country Champion, Lydia Mato. Over his two seasons he also coached 16 NJCAA National Champions and 24 NJCAA Track & Field All-Americans.
Cowles started his coaching career as a graduate student/assistant coach at Idaho State University. He spent three seasons as an assistant cross country and track and field coach focusing on all steeplechase, 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter student-athletes. He guided Audrey Urlacher to a Big Sky Championship in the 5,000-meter run in 2011 and also a seventh-place finish at the USATF Junior National Championships. While in Pocatello, Idaho, Cowles also guided five women's and four men's NCAA West Regional track & field qualifiers. In his first year at Idaho State, Erica Wendt-Richardson became the school’s first women's cross country runner to win the Big Sky Cross Country championship. That same year, the Bengal women placed third at the Big Sky championships.
After going to high school at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany, Cowles earned his Bachelors of Science in American History from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 2009 and his Masters of Physical Education in Sports Administration and Leadership from Idaho State University in 2011.
As a student-athlete at the Air Force Academy, Cowles earned eight varsity letters as a Division I long distance runner and competed in six Mountain West cross country and track and field championships, where he recorded two podium finishes. Cowles was a runner-up at the 2008 Drake Relays in the 10,000 meters. His career best in the 10,000 meters was 30:31 at the 2009 Mt. SAC Relays, while his best in the 5,000 meters was 14:35 and his best in the 3,000 meters was 8:33.
After graduation from the Academy, Cowles served a brief stint as an Air Force officer. He planned Columbus Air Force Base public relation events and coordinated and scheduled media coverage for the annual air show. He also wrote articles for the Columbus Air Force Base weekly paper, Silver Wings.
Cowles is married to his wife Emily and the couple has two children.
