Comets Leadership

Coaches

Chris Torres
Head Coach
Chris is back for his thirteenth year with the club and eighth year coaching athletes. His focus again will primarily be with the distance and middle distance runners. Coach Chris’s philosophy favors quality over quantity with the distance group, making sure their workouts are done for specific training benefits rather than just piling on “junk” miles. This philosophy has yielded great results and helps ensure athletes of all skill levels have fun and are able to do their best…which is our ultimate goal. Chris was an all-state runner in high school and ran collegiately at Fort Hays State University. He continues to be an avid runner having completed nearly 34 marathons and countless half marathons. He enjoys getting to share his passion for running with the Comets.

Chris Boos
Assistant Head Coach – Distance
Chris has been a coach of youth track and cross-country athletes for the past 3 years and has a son who is currently competing in his second season with The Comets.  Chris loves to encourage and support young people as they learn and grow.  Having fun along the way is essential to long-term success.  Chris likes to plan workouts that are designed to achieve specific training effects and improve fitness by challenging multiple physiological systems.  He values preparation, attention to detail, and keeping a positive attitude.

Ethan Ferrell
Sprints, Jumps
Ethan will primarily be working with sprints and jumps. He has developed a passion for working with kids and helping them grow into their potential no matter the skill level. He believes in creating the right habits and developing the little things to create building blocks for athletes to work off of and excel down the road. Ethan holds his high school’s 400m and 4x800m records, he was also is a 2-time National Christian High School Track Championships (NCHTC) national 400m champion. He is currently running collegiately at MNU and specializes in the 400m and 800m.

Theresa O’Leary
Sprints, Hurdles, Jumps
Theresa grew up in Michigan where she earned high school all-state honors in the 300m hurdles, 4×400, 100m hurdles and the long-jump multiple times. She was a Div. 1, Varsity athlete at Michigan State University where she ran the 400m and threw javelin and competed at Big 10 Championships. Theresa wants to ignite a passion for track & field in young athletes through a combination of fun and smart training.

Mariam Shahbazi
Throws: Shot Put & Discus
This is her 3rd year with the club and first year officially coaching the throws events of shot put and discus. She competed in both events as well as a few sprinting events throughout high school and for fun with a club team freshman year in college until she shifted focus to nursing. She has two boys who compete with the club and that she helicopter-mom-coached for at least 8 years. Over the years, her no-nonsense “mommy voice” gained her the recognition to elevate to coach status. Her philosophy: Have fun, but do it right! Form is everything!

Autumn Avery
Throws: Javelin
This is Autumn’s first year with the club. She is a junior at MidAmerica Nazarene University studying sports management and marketing. She is currently a javelin thrower on the MNU track and field team. She is a 2x Conference Champion and qualified to compete at Nationals her freshman and junior year. She is excited to start her coaching journey and share her experience in the javelin.

Board of Directors