SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara men's cross country/track & field has added Meron Simon as an assistant coach. Simon spent the last two seasons at Oregon State as a volunteer assistant.

This past season he helped lead the Beavers to a fourth place finish in the DMR at Indoor Nationals. Grace Fetherstonhaugh and Kaylee Mitchell were named Second Team All-America and qualified for NCAA Nationals in the 3,000m steeplechase.

The Beavers had a historic outdoor track and field season with Simon in his first year in 2020-21. OSU set three school records with Fetherstonhaugh in the 5K (15:58.93), Batya Beard in the 10K (33:25.86), and Mitchell in the 3,000M steeplechase (9:48.30). The 2020-21 Oregon State track and field team left an everlasting mark in the program record book, posting a combined 15 top-10 performances in school history in middle and long distance events. Meron assisted in Mitchell earning a third-place finish at the Pac-12 Championships in the 3,000m steeplechase with her time of 9:48.30. He helped Fetherstonhaugh and Beard each earn top-eight at the Pac-12 Championships to score team points for the Beavers. Four Beavers -- Audrey Lookner, Fetherstonhaugh, Mitchell, and Beard -- each qualified for the NCAA West Regionals in Meron's first season. Fetherstonhaugh finished seventh at regionals with a 3,000m steeplechase time of 9:50.40 to advance to the NCAA Championships.

During a shortened indoor track and field season, Meron assisted with Fetherstonhaugh becoming just the third athlete in program history to qualify for the Indoor NCAA Championships as she finished 14th in the 5K to earn Second-Team All-American honors.

In Simon's first season on staff in 2020-21, he helped coach the OSU cross country team to the best finishes in program history at the NCAA Championships (16th; 375 points) and Pac-12 Championships (4th; 100 points). Simon aided in  Mitchell recording the best individual finish in school history at the NCAA Championships (20th; 20:38.5). Mitchell, along with Beard, were tabbed All-Americans with Simon's assistance for finishing in the top-40 at the NCAA Championships, becoming the first cross country All-Americans in program history. Mitchell earned First-Team All-Pac-12 for her running during the season.

Simon spent one year as the head cross country coach at Westchester Community College in New York prior to Oregon State.

As a student-athlete, Simon competed for both the University of Washington and North Carolina State University, earning a Bachelor's degree from Washington in 2015 and a Graduate Certificate from North Carolina State a year later. At Washington, Simon was a qualifier for the NCAA Division I Championships in Cross Country, and an All-American in the Distance Medley Relay. At NC State, Simon was an All-ACC and All-Region performer, as well as a qualifier for the NCAA Division I Championships in Cross Country.

While at the University of Washington, Simon competed in one of the most famous track events in NCAA history. On April 11, 2015, Simon and the Huskies competed at the Pepsi Team Invitational in Eugene, Oregon. During the Steeplechase event, Oregon's Tanguy Pepiot held a healthy lead over Simon as the race approached the finish line, and began celebrating what appeared the be an imminent victory. At finish line, Simon sprinted past Pepiot for an improbable win. Video of Simon's efforts to overcome a deficit and achieve victory was viewed more than 4,000,000 times on YouTube, and was the #1 'Not Top Play' on ESPN's SportsCenter, earning Simon instant acclaim.

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