University of Alabama at Birmingham Women's Cross Country

Kurt Thomas was named head coach of the track & field program in December 2010, after serving as the interim head coach for the 2010 season. He is in his 19th year overall with the Blazers after serving as an assistant track & field coach from 2008-09. He works primarily with the UAB jumpers and Heptathletes. Earlier in his time with the Blazers, Thomas has coached sprinters, hurdlers, and pole vaults. In 2025, Coach Kurt Thomas guided a diverse and talented roster across sprints, hurdles, jumps, pole vault, throws, and multi-events. His athletes saw multiple appearances on the school record list, including Destiny Roper in the 60m and Christina Mudd, who dominated multiple events in the 60m hurdles, shot put, and pentathlon, later adding the heptathlon outdoors. Leticia Quingostas captured the 400m indoors and outdoors, while pole vaulters Noelle Hambrick and Victoria Freeland highlighted the vertical jumps. High jumpers Hope Foster and Olivia Beard added to the field success, and the distance and relay groups thrived with Lidia Longo in the mile and standout 4×400 and DMR relay teams. Birthe Franck-Petersen closed the year strong with an outdoor shot put win. The 2024 season showcased elite sprint depth under Coach Thomas. Gabby Washington led the year with appearances on the all-time list in the 200m, 300m, and both indoor and outdoor 400m. The team excelled across the spectrum: Regina Harris in the 600m, Emily Drouin in the 3000m, and a strong vertical jumps crew featurin

Travis Pope enters his 3rd season on the Southside as the Head Cross Country and Assistant Track & Field coach. In three seasons, Pope has heightened the standard of UAB Cross Country as he has taken the Blazers from 13th to sixth in the American Conference Cross Country Championships. Pope comes to UAB after serving as the assistant coach at the University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley. While at UTRGV, he handled training and recruiting for mid/long-distance. Pope would also coach 20 top-ten all-time performers through his stint coaching the Vaqueros, including a second-place finish for Ricky Mendoza in the WAC outdoor championships and a third-place finish for Miguel Escamilla in the WAC indoor championships, both in the 800m. Pope served as a volunteer assistant coach at LSU for three years (2019-22). At LSU, he assisted in training design for mid and long-distance athletes, facilitated practices, day-to-day program operations, and meet management. He helped coach the 2021 Men's Outdoor Track & Field National Championship team and some of LSU's highest-placing men's and women's teams at SEC and NCAA South Central Regional Championships. He also served as an educator and coach at Creekview High School in Canton, Ga. for four years, coaching Track & Field and Cross Country for three of the four. He was a three-time Region 6A and Cherokee County track & field/cross country coach of the year. Pope coached six state champions and four region championship teams and led three cro