ATLANTA—Kari Elliott has announced her decision to step down from her role as Oglethorpe cross country/track & field head coach following the spring season. Elliott has accepted the head coaching position at Houghton University in Caneadea, New York. Her last day at Oglethorpe will be May 31.

"I hate to lose quality coaches, and that is exactly what Coach Elliott is," said Todd Brooks, Oglethorpe director of athletics. "Coach Elliott has done an excellent job of elevating the success of both our cross country and track & field programs. She has also been significantly effective in building up our track & field offerings despite not having a competitive track or throws venue.  She will definitely be missed, and I wish her the very best in her new position at Houghton."

Record breaking has been the sentiment under the Elliott era. Her coaching has led to countless shattered Oglethorpe and Southern Athletic Association records, as well as several prominent national appearances.

"It has been an incredible three years of coaching here at Oglethorpe," Elliott said. "I am proud of our student-athletes and their many accomplishments and so grateful for the coaching staff that made it all possible. I would like to thank Todd Brooks for bringing me on three years ago and entrusting me with this program. I have been truly blessed by the Oglethorpe community, faculty and staff and will remain a Stormy Petrel fan forever."

Elliott joined the Stormy Petrel coaching staff in June 2023. She has coached the cross country and track & field teams to produce one of the strongest stretches of performances in program history, consistently competing at the top of the SAA and sending multiple athletes to compete at the NCAA level.

Elliott's coaching produced two SAA cross country titles, 12 SAA track & field titles and four cross country national qualifiers during her three-year tenure.

The fall 2024 season, Elliott's second season, was a record-breaking campaign. Elliott coached Ashton Deriso and Zachary Benner, Oglethorpe's fourth and fifth cross country national qualifiers, to the NCAA Championships. The pair brought home the program's first-ever individual conference title in cross country, broke the school and conference 8k record, and recorded the highest regional and national finishes in school history.

Four champions, two broken school records, eight All-SAA awards, and an indoor NCAA all-American (Deriso in the 800 meters) came out of Elliott's second year of coaching track & field.

Elliott's third season at the helm led to a USTFCCCA south region athlete of the year, an SAA champion, SAA runner of the year, SAA rookie of the year and three broken school records. Benner and Deriso brought home a 1-2 finish at the SAA cross country championships, and the pair qualified once again for the NCAA Championships. They became the 10th and 11th national qualifiers in the history of the program, four of which came under Elliott.

Elliott and the Stormy Petrels head to the SAA Indoor Championships this weekend before turning their attention to outdoor season beginning in March.

A national search is currently under way for Oglethorpe's fifth cross country/track & field head coach.