By Basil Gates
Basil Gates outside Centennial Hall. Photo by Payton Stephens.
When Conner Gulick first graduated from Bluffton University in 2020, he thought if he ever came back to Bluffton, it wouldn’t be for a long time.
Now only two years after graduation he finds himself coaching the cross-country team and distance track team—which includes the very recruits he met his senior year.
“It was always kind of something I thought of in the back of my mind. It would be a cool place at some point in my career to maybe end up back at,” said Gulick. “Did I think it would be as early in my career as it was? No, but things happen for a reason.”
Gulick, a Bluffton graduate in sports management and business administration, ran cross-country and track over the course of his four years at the university.
During that time he made various accomplishments, from earning All-Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference honorable mention recognition for cross-country in 2016 and for track from 2017 to 2019, to also breaking the Bluffton school record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 2019.
Gulick also served as a team captain throughout his junior and senior years.
After graduation, Gulick coached cross-country and track for Heidelberg University in Tiffin, Ohio.
He also volunteered as an assistant coach at Utica High School in summer 2019.
“A big person that had an impact on my life was really my high school coach,” said Gulick. “I really grew a lot with him, and it was something I wanted to give back to others—[to] maybe have the same impact on somebody like that.”
When Gulick was a student at Bluffton he had three different coaches throughout his four years there, one of whom was Logan Wells.
Wells left Bluffton University after the 2020-2021 school year. The new coach, Scott Black, would coach at Bluffton the following academic year. Black would also end up leaving after one year of coaching.
For many members of the cross-country team, that is three years of cross-country with three different coaches.
When asked if Gulick had any thoughts about going into coaching a team that hadn’t had consistent coaching, he admitted he had some concerns.
“It was kind of like restarting again,” said Gulick. “I knew the inconsistencies that a lot of people have had on the team. I had Wells as well when I was an athlete, so a lot of things I have done as a coach is similar to the things he’s done, but with my own twist on things between what I have learned from Heidelberg and what I have learned from my own coaches.”
Gulick also said a big priority of his is to make sure everyone is having fun.
“Really for me, it was trying to get these kids to buy in and trust what we’re going to do,” said Gulick. “I want to put [them] in a great position to do well. I want [them] to enjoy it and have fun.”
Gulick is looking forward to seeing what the athletes can do in the future.
“I’m super excited for what the future is going to hold for this team,” said Gulick. “Now that the goal of hopefully getting some consistency [will be met], I’m really excited for what we can do with that consistency.”
