Newly appointed men’s and women’s track and cross country coach Corey Ihmels spoke about last week’s hiring on Tuesday.

Ihmels replaces head men’s track coach Steve Lynn and head women’s track and cross country coach Dick Lee, who have both been coaching at Iowa State for more than 20 years.

“It’s the opportunity of a lifetime. It’s something that as a young coach, these opportunities don’t come along every day. Obviously I’m excited about the challenge and what lies ahead,” Ihmels said. “It’s been a very tough situation, and it hasn’t been easy, but I’m definitely looking forward to the future.”

Lynn and Lee both described the decision, announced last Tuesday, as a complete surprise. Ihmels also said the decision was a surprise to him.

“Everything was a complete surprise to me. I’ve had my head down in my recruiting and everything else, and I had no idea,” Ihmels said. “This came as a complete surprise. For whatever reason Jamie [Pollard] saw something in me, and I was given the opportunity.”

Ihmels declined to comment on how much he discussed the opportunity with Pollard before the actual decision was made.

“Obviously they approached me before it happened. That’s all I’m going to say about that.”

Pollard that he had been in discussion with Ihmels for about a week prior to the decision.

The first thing on Ihmel’s to do list is getting a staff put together under him. Along with the two head coaches, three other assistants did not have their contracts renewed, meaning Ihmels will have five coaches to replace.

“The one thing I’m not going to do is make this a quick process,” Ihmels said. “It’s really easy to just get eager and hire five coaches before July 1. Even though it’s important that we get coaches in here so that the kids have direction, it’s more important to get the right people.”

One thing he does know is that former men’s head coach Bill Bergan, who coached track and cross country for 21 years before Lynn took over, will somehow be involved with the program. Bergan led the Cyclones to 10 Big Eight Championships in both cross country and track.

“He’s going to be heavily involved one way or another. I haven’t really finalized how that will unfold,” Ihmels said. “He’s been a huge mentor to me, and for me not to have him be a huge part in what we are doing is foolish, so he’s going to play a role.”

Meanwhile, four athletes will compete at NCAA Nationals for the Cyclones, which begins Wednesday. Neil Hines begins the decathlon Wednesday, along with Jenna Caffrey in the 100-meter hurdles and Priya Hoze in the long jump. Agata Kosuda begins action in the triple jump on Friday.

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