GREENVILLE, S.C. – Furman cross country/track and field coach Rita Gary will serve as the Team USA women's coach for the 2020 Pan Am Cross Country Championship, which will be held Feb. 29 in Greater Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
"I am thrilled that USATF has selected me for this position," said Gary. "Leading team USA means a great deal to me because it's both recognition for what I have already accomplished as a coach and an opportunity to continue to grow my skill set. I look forward to leading both the junior and senior women as we take on national teams from Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador, Canada and Peru; and of course I will work to put each woman in a position to bring the win back to the U.S."
Carrie Verdon from the Boulder Track Club and USATF junior champion Brooke Rauber will lead Team USA's senior and junior women's squads, respectively.
Gary is in her eighth season at Furman. The 2018 USTFCCCA Southeast Region Assistant Coach of the Year, she has coached 14 teams to a top-35 finish at the NCAA Championships, highlighted by seven top-15 team finishes. She has coached teams to three region championships and 16 conference titles.
During her career, Gary has coached 40 NCAA All-Americans, including 13 top-10 finishers, 32 Academic All-Americans, five team USATF Championship Qualifiers, and five Team USA Members. Her athletes have claimed 68 NCAA all-region awards, while her teams have won ten USATFCCCA All-Academic Awards, the Heller Commitment to Community Award, and the Furman University Golden Paladin Award in 2017.
Under Gary's direction, Furman won the SoCon women's cross country title for the seventh-consecutive season in 2019. The Paladin women placed second at the Southeast Region Championship, tying the highest regional finish in the history of the Furman women's program, and placed four women on the all-region team. The Furman women entered the NCAA Championships ranked 15th but went on to score a ninth-place finish, led by Savannah Carnahan, who placed 13th, and Gabbi Jennings who finished 20th. Both Carnahan and Jennings earned their third career All-American citation at the meet.
A native of Saline, Michigan, she is married to Furman head track and field/cross country coach and two-time Team USA Olympian, Robert Gary. The Garys are parents of a son, Percy.