Bluffton University has named Logan Wells as head cross country coach and assistant track and field coach. Wells comes to Bluffton with two years of collegiate coaching experience at Hanover College and Otterbein University. He also served as a volunteer assistant coach at Federal Hocking High School in Stewart, Ohio.

A graduate of Hanover College, Wells competed in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference and earned multiple honors including HCAC All-Conference and HCAC Academic All-Conference recognition. Bluffton also competes in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference. He will start Jan. 1, 2019.

“It is a great honor to be named the head cross country and assistant track and field coach at Bluffton University,” said Wells. “It has been a long-time dream of mine to help build and sustain a program of committed student-athletes who want to grow as runners and as people. I want to especially thank Bluffton’s athletic director, Phill Talavinia, and Kaylea Jachno, coordinator of cross country and track and field programs, for this opportunity.”

As an assistant coach, Wells worked closely with his colleagues to coordinate practices, recruit athletes and manage on-campus events. He also gained considerable knowledge in hosting events while assisting Hanover College during the NCAA DIII Cross Country National Championships in 2013, as well as through coordinating races with Columbus Running Company in Columbus, Ohio.

He is ranked fifth on Hanover’s 8 kilometer top-20 record and fifth on their indoor mile record. Wells also trained and competed with the CRC (Columbus Running Company) Elite team from 2015-18. He competed in the 2016 USATF half-marathon championships.

Wells will take over for Karen Brandt, who retired this summer after leading both the cross country and track and field teams for the past seven years. Jachno, served as the interim head cross country coach for the 2018 season with the assistance of Ryan Schadewald, a 2016 Bluffton graduate.