Michael Smith is entering his 16th year as a member of the coaching staff at K-state and sixth year at the helm of the men’s and women’s cross country teams. Since arriving in Manhattan in 1994, Coach Smith has played an integral role in the success of the K-state cross country and track and field teams in the Big 12 Conference and at the NCAA Championships. During his tenure, the Wildcats have won three women’s championships in the Big 12 Conference, earned their highest ever women’s NCAA team finish in cross country (5th) and top 10 NCAA finishes in men’s and women’s track and field.
  As the assistant cross country coach at K-state from 1994-2004, Coach Smith was instrumental in the success enjoyed by the women’s and men’s cross country teams. During that time period the K-state women won the 1998 Big XII title in Lincoln, captured three consecutive Midwest Regional titles (1998, 1999, 2000) and garnered NCAA finishes of 13th, 5th and 10th (1998-2000). The Big XII women’s victory in 1998 remains the only Big XII cross country team title not won by the University of Colorado. Coach Smith took over the reigns of the men’s and women’s cross country programs in the fall of 2004 and started a rebuilding process.   In that first season he guided senior Matthew Chesang to one of K-state’s most outstanding individual cross country seasons in recent memory. Chesang finished 3rd at the Big XII championships, 2nd at the Midwest Regional Championships and capped off his senior season with an All-American performance at the NCAA championships. Matthew’s 12th place finish was the highest NCAA placing for a Wildcat male harrier since Jerome Howe’s 10th place finish in 1971, and the first Wildcat men’s cross country All-American since 1992. 
 Smith’s athletes on the track have won 13 conference championships, set 20 school records, earned 12 All-American certificates and set 4 Big XII meet records. The 2008 collegiate season was highlighted by the accolades of sophomore Beverly Ramos who broke her own school and national record (Puerto Rico) in the steeplechase with her 10:15.56 mark at the Cardinal Invite. In June, she earned her first All-American honor at the NCAA outdoor championships in the steeplechase. In addition to the success garnered by Ramos in the 2008 season, Smith has presided over the steady improvement of the Wildcat distance corps, many of whom enjoyed breakout seasons in 2008. 
 In the summer of 2008, Coach Smith guided former wildcat, Christian Smith to the 800m final of the US Olympic Trials where he claimed the third qualifying position (1:45.47) for the US Olympic team in one of the most memorable finishes in recent history.  Christian’s dive across the finish line to secure the final qualifying spot electrified the Eugene, Oregon crowd and vaulted Christian and the K-state program into the national spotlight. With his historic performance, Christian joined fellow Wildcat middle distance legends Jerome Howe and Ken Swenson in representing the United States in Olympic competition. Christian Smith’s K-state career included an NCAA mile title, a collegiate record in the 1000m run (2:19.57), 3 consecutive Big XII titles in the 1000m run and 1 outdoor 800m title.  He finished his K-state career with personal bests and KSU school records of 1:44.86 for 800 meters and 3:38.10 for 1500 meters eclipsing the marks of Swenson and Howe from the 1970’s. 
 In addition to coaching the current group of K-State middle and long distance runners, Smith has tutored a number of Wildcats in their post-collegiate careers including 2005 KSU alumnus Lysaira Roman Del Valle the 2006 bronze medalist at the Ibero-American Championships in the 800m (2:02.85) and 2008 Pan American Games fifth place finisher (4:18.40).  Coach Smith also coached 2003 alumnus Roberto Carvajal, the 2003 Mexican national champion in the 110-meter high hurdles (14.07) and 2004 Mexican national champion in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles (50.31) while he trained post collegiately at K-state. 
 Coach Smith currently serves as an instructor for the USATF level II coaching education program in the endurance events and has been a clinician at numerous track and field and cross country clinics.  He also coordinates the recruiting efforts at K-state and in so doing has played a significant role in the development of the K-state men’s and women’s rosters.
 Prior to arriving in Manhattan in 1994, Smith spent two years at Skyline High School in California and one season at the William Penn Charter High School in Philadelphia (Pa.). While at Skyline, Smith helped guide the teams to two boys’ and two girls’ cross country championships in the Oakland Athletic League (OAL) and a pair of OAL titles in both boys and girls track and field.