Mark Conover hoists Big West championship trophy after his team won the conference title in 2017.
Cal Poly Track & Field, Cross Country Director Mark Conover Passes
4/7/2022 2:19:00 PM | Cross Country, Track and Field
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Mark Conover, Cal Poly's Director of Track & Field and Cross Country for more than 13 years and a coach of the Mustangs for 25 seasons overall, passed away Wednesday night after a courageous year-long battle with an aggressive squamous cell carcinoma.
Conover, who was 61, survived a battle with Hodgkin's disease in 1993 and 1994.
"Mark crossed the finish line last night at 11:23 p.m.," Kelly Conover, Mark's wife, wrote on Caring Bridge. "A champion through it all. His journey ended, but his legacy will continue through us all. Celebrate his life, share your memories of him and honor a life well lived."
Cal Poly director of athletics Don Oberhelman announced Mark's passing at an emergency staff/coaches meeting Thursday morning.
"Our track and field and cross country teams along with our entire athletic department mourn together as a family," said Oberhelman. "Coach Conover impacted the lives of hundreds of men and women who donned the green and gold, with a far-reaching impact well beyond track and field.
"I'm not sure I ever met someone who loved being a Cal Poly Mustang as much as Mark Conover," Oberhelman added.
Conover coached five Cal Poly cross country teams to top-25 finishes at the NCAA Championships, including a No. 10 national finish by the men's team in 2004. In addition, 17 of his men's cross country teams and seven women's squads from 1998 through 2019 claimed Big West Conference crowns.
Last spring, the Cal Poly women's track and field team captured its first-ever Big West team championship while the men were second for the eighth time since joining the conference in 1997, finishing just six points shy of the team title. The two teams combined for seven individual and relay titles. Nine Mustangs qualified for the NCAA Division I West Preliminary in College Station, Texas.
"Coach Conover's loss will be felt by the entire conference as he was respected by everyone and mentor to so many individuals, myself included," said Big West Director of Championships and former Cal Poly track and field student-athlete Tyler Huntley. "The culture Coach Conover cultivated during his time at Cal Poly is second to none.
"He pushed all of his student-athletes to our limits, challenging us both physically and mentally, while at the same time having a priceless sense of humor, and providing legendary one-liners," Huntley added. "His influence on my life cannot be understated, as the lessons he taught me and the experience he provided made me want to work in college athletics and try to help improve the experiences for other student-athletes. He will be deeply missed."
After coaching the men's cross country team to an unprecedented seventh consecutive Big West Conference championship (2003-09), Conover was named Cal Poly's Director of Track & Field and Cross Country in December 2009.
Conover has been named the Big West Cross Country Coach of the Year a combined 19 times on either the men's or women's sides, as well as the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association West Region Coach of the Year in three seasons (2000, 2003 and 2011). Spring of 2021 20th in track
During his time at Cal Poly, Conover directly coached a total of 10 All-Americans, while the program as a whole also produced an additional four All-Americans since he was appointed director. He also coached 65 NCAA first-round or semifinals track qualifiers and 45 all-regional honorees in cross country.
Conover also coached 71 individual conference champions between track and cross country, including most recently Justin Robison in the 1,500 last May, and mentored six Big West Track Athletes of the Year, 16 Cross Country Athletes of the Year, three Freshmen of the Year in track and 17 Freshmen of the Year in cross country.
He's guided Mustang student-athletes to 76 top-10 all-time performances in Cal Poly track history, including the school record-holders for the men's 5,000 and 10,000 meters, along with the women's steeplechase and hammer throw.
Meanwhile, the program's women and men have also earned USTFCCCA All-Academic Team status a combined 31 times under Conover's watch in cross country and track and field.
In 2021, Conover also saw John Bennett claim a Big West Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award, making him one of 22 individuals among 2,500 student-athletes throughout the conference to be so honored. It was the ninth year in a row in which one of Conover's student-athletes received the accolade (and the 13th occasion since 2000).
In addition, in 2019 Alex Merder was selected as an Academic All-American, making the Second Team to cap a Cal Poly career which included a trio of team championship rings alongside an individual conference title for the 1,500-meter run.
Conover also has coached the all-sports Cal Poly Athlete of the Year in 2007 (future Team USA XC member Phillip Reid), 2013 (All-American cross country runner Laura Hollander), 2017 (future Canadian Olympic Trials participant Clayton Hutchins) and 2018 (USATF Championship qualifier Swarnjit Boyal).
Conover was a nine-time All-American at Humboldt State, and earned the rare distinction of becoming an All-American in two NCAA divisions (including a 23rd-place finish at the 1980 Division I Cross Country Championships). In the spring of 1981, he won the Division II national title in the 10,000 meters, before also winning the national championship in cross country that fall.
In 1988, Conover was the U.S. Olympic Trials champion in the marathon with a time of 2 hours, 12 minutes, 26 seconds, and went on to run at the Seoul Games. He competed professionally from 1984-96 and was a four-time Olympic Trials qualifier.
A graduate of Miramonte High School in Orinda, Calif., Conover earned his bachelor's degree in Natural Resource Planning and Interpretation at Humboldt State in 1983 and his master's degree from Cal Poly in City and Regional Planning in 1989.
Conover was inducted into the Humboldt State University Hall of Fame in 1993, as well as the USATF Pacific Association Hall of Fame in 2020.
Prior to coaching at Cal Poly, Conover was an assistant planner with San Luis Obispo County from 1989-92 and editor of The Runner's Schedule magazine from 1992-95.
Born on May 28, 1960, in Contra Costa County, Conover is survived by his wife, Kelly, and triplets (two girls, Audrey and Marley, and a boy, Cordell), born in 2007.
Services are pending.
Comments from Mustang track and field student-athletes:
Sierra Brill (recalling Coach Conover's favorite sayings): "A mustang is never conquered" -- this is a Cal Poly university favorite, and not necessarily a Mark Conover original, but it was one of his favorite mottos and feels very fitting of him. "You've gotta just go and be appreciative of the time you have and the people you meet. This sport brings some of the best people together and I'm thankful for the community I get to be a part of." -- this is not verbatim, but this came up in our conversations a lot. He was always grateful and proud to be a runner and of the things it symbolized in his life. "Do it for the ring." -- Mark was not a loud man, so it makes me smile extra wide that this is what he chose to say to me at our conference championship in track and field when the women won in 2021. He wasn't shouting, but as I raced the 5,000 meters in Irvine, the last event before the team title was certainly ours, all I could hear through the crowd was Coach Conover. "Do it for the ring" was really "Do it for your teammates."
Misty Diaz: "Thank you for showing us your strength and kindness every day, we love you and miss you and you won't ever be forgotten."
Dylan Bouzigues: "Coach Conover passed doing what he loved. He kept on fighting and pushed through the pain every single day. The world lost a great one yesterday. We'll miss you coach ?. I know you're in a better place :)"
Bailey Jones: "A Mustang Is Never Conquered." Coach Conover inspires me to have strength through any obstacle.
Jake Ritter: "Coach Conover's influence has reached far and wide and I am proud to say that I had the opportunity to be coached by him. He is someone that I will always remember from the five years that I have spent as one of his athletes. Coach may have graduated before me, but I know that we're still connected and that he will always be cheering me on from the sidelines."
Conover, who was 61, survived a battle with Hodgkin's disease in 1993 and 1994.
"Mark crossed the finish line last night at 11:23 p.m.," Kelly Conover, Mark's wife, wrote on Caring Bridge. "A champion through it all. His journey ended, but his legacy will continue through us all. Celebrate his life, share your memories of him and honor a life well lived."
Cal Poly director of athletics Don Oberhelman announced Mark's passing at an emergency staff/coaches meeting Thursday morning."Our track and field and cross country teams along with our entire athletic department mourn together as a family," said Oberhelman. "Coach Conover impacted the lives of hundreds of men and women who donned the green and gold, with a far-reaching impact well beyond track and field.
"I'm not sure I ever met someone who loved being a Cal Poly Mustang as much as Mark Conover," Oberhelman added.
Conover coached five Cal Poly cross country teams to top-25 finishes at the NCAA Championships, including a No. 10 national finish by the men's team in 2004. In addition, 17 of his men's cross country teams and seven women's squads from 1998 through 2019 claimed Big West Conference crowns.
Last spring, the Cal Poly women's track and field team captured its first-ever Big West team championship while the men were second for the eighth time since joining the conference in 1997, finishing just six points shy of the team title. The two teams combined for seven individual and relay titles. Nine Mustangs qualified for the NCAA Division I West Preliminary in College Station, Texas.
"Coach Conover's loss will be felt by the entire conference as he was respected by everyone and mentor to so many individuals, myself included," said Big West Director of Championships and former Cal Poly track and field student-athlete Tyler Huntley. "The culture Coach Conover cultivated during his time at Cal Poly is second to none.
"He pushed all of his student-athletes to our limits, challenging us both physically and mentally, while at the same time having a priceless sense of humor, and providing legendary one-liners," Huntley added. "His influence on my life cannot be understated, as the lessons he taught me and the experience he provided made me want to work in college athletics and try to help improve the experiences for other student-athletes. He will be deeply missed."
After coaching the men's cross country team to an unprecedented seventh consecutive Big West Conference championship (2003-09), Conover was named Cal Poly's Director of Track & Field and Cross Country in December 2009.
Conover has been named the Big West Cross Country Coach of the Year a combined 19 times on either the men's or women's sides, as well as the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association West Region Coach of the Year in three seasons (2000, 2003 and 2011). Spring of 2021 20th in track
During his time at Cal Poly, Conover directly coached a total of 10 All-Americans, while the program as a whole also produced an additional four All-Americans since he was appointed director. He also coached 65 NCAA first-round or semifinals track qualifiers and 45 all-regional honorees in cross country.
Conover also coached 71 individual conference champions between track and cross country, including most recently Justin Robison in the 1,500 last May, and mentored six Big West Track Athletes of the Year, 16 Cross Country Athletes of the Year, three Freshmen of the Year in track and 17 Freshmen of the Year in cross country.He's guided Mustang student-athletes to 76 top-10 all-time performances in Cal Poly track history, including the school record-holders for the men's 5,000 and 10,000 meters, along with the women's steeplechase and hammer throw.
Meanwhile, the program's women and men have also earned USTFCCCA All-Academic Team status a combined 31 times under Conover's watch in cross country and track and field.
In 2021, Conover also saw John Bennett claim a Big West Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award, making him one of 22 individuals among 2,500 student-athletes throughout the conference to be so honored. It was the ninth year in a row in which one of Conover's student-athletes received the accolade (and the 13th occasion since 2000).
In addition, in 2019 Alex Merder was selected as an Academic All-American, making the Second Team to cap a Cal Poly career which included a trio of team championship rings alongside an individual conference title for the 1,500-meter run.
Conover also has coached the all-sports Cal Poly Athlete of the Year in 2007 (future Team USA XC member Phillip Reid), 2013 (All-American cross country runner Laura Hollander), 2017 (future Canadian Olympic Trials participant Clayton Hutchins) and 2018 (USATF Championship qualifier Swarnjit Boyal).
Conover was a nine-time All-American at Humboldt State, and earned the rare distinction of becoming an All-American in two NCAA divisions (including a 23rd-place finish at the 1980 Division I Cross Country Championships). In the spring of 1981, he won the Division II national title in the 10,000 meters, before also winning the national championship in cross country that fall.
In 1988, Conover was the U.S. Olympic Trials champion in the marathon with a time of 2 hours, 12 minutes, 26 seconds, and went on to run at the Seoul Games. He competed professionally from 1984-96 and was a four-time Olympic Trials qualifier.
A graduate of Miramonte High School in Orinda, Calif., Conover earned his bachelor's degree in Natural Resource Planning and Interpretation at Humboldt State in 1983 and his master's degree from Cal Poly in City and Regional Planning in 1989.
Conover was inducted into the Humboldt State University Hall of Fame in 1993, as well as the USATF Pacific Association Hall of Fame in 2020.
Prior to coaching at Cal Poly, Conover was an assistant planner with San Luis Obispo County from 1989-92 and editor of The Runner's Schedule magazine from 1992-95.
Born on May 28, 1960, in Contra Costa County, Conover is survived by his wife, Kelly, and triplets (two girls, Audrey and Marley, and a boy, Cordell), born in 2007.
Services are pending.
Comments from Mustang track and field student-athletes:
Sierra Brill (recalling Coach Conover's favorite sayings): "A mustang is never conquered" -- this is a Cal Poly university favorite, and not necessarily a Mark Conover original, but it was one of his favorite mottos and feels very fitting of him. "You've gotta just go and be appreciative of the time you have and the people you meet. This sport brings some of the best people together and I'm thankful for the community I get to be a part of." -- this is not verbatim, but this came up in our conversations a lot. He was always grateful and proud to be a runner and of the things it symbolized in his life. "Do it for the ring." -- Mark was not a loud man, so it makes me smile extra wide that this is what he chose to say to me at our conference championship in track and field when the women won in 2021. He wasn't shouting, but as I raced the 5,000 meters in Irvine, the last event before the team title was certainly ours, all I could hear through the crowd was Coach Conover. "Do it for the ring" was really "Do it for your teammates."
Misty Diaz: "Thank you for showing us your strength and kindness every day, we love you and miss you and you won't ever be forgotten."
Dylan Bouzigues: "Coach Conover passed doing what he loved. He kept on fighting and pushed through the pain every single day. The world lost a great one yesterday. We'll miss you coach ?. I know you're in a better place :)"
Bailey Jones: "A Mustang Is Never Conquered." Coach Conover inspires me to have strength through any obstacle.
Jake Ritter: "Coach Conover's influence has reached far and wide and I am proud to say that I had the opportunity to be coached by him. He is someone that I will always remember from the five years that I have spent as one of his athletes. Coach may have graduated before me, but I know that we're still connected and that he will always be cheering me on from the sidelines."
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