Wes Penberthy was hired to lead the Bulldog cross country programs in August of 2024.
Penberthy joins Samford from Palm Beach Atlantic University where he was the cross country and track coach for two seasons. He led the women's cross country team to its first Sunshine State Conference team conference championship in 2022, with PBA runner Dune Costes winning the individual championship. Penberthy earned Coach of the Year honors and led the women's team to its first trip to NCAA nationals in program history where the team finished 25th; the first top-25 national ranking in program history. In his second season, Penberthy's men's side finished 10th in the region while the women's side finished fourth.
Under Penberthy's first track season at PBA, he oversaw school track records in the men's 100m, 200m, 800m, 1500m, 4x400m, and 10k. His runners also set school track records in the women's 800m, 1500m, 4x400m, and the 10k.
Prior to his stint at PBA, Penberthy spent several years of coaching at the NCAA DI level. He was an assistant coach specializing in distance events since July 2021 at UT-Rio Grande Valley. Before UTRGV, Penberthy held the same role at Georgia Southern from 2018-21. In his time at Georgia Southern, he trained three All-Sun Belt first-team honorees and trained the Eagles’ first outdoor Sun Belt Champion in program history in the 5k. Georgia Southern broke seven school records while Penberthy was on staff.
Before his stint with the Eagles, Penberthy was a volunteer at the University of Oklahoma for the 2017-18 school year. He also has ties in Florida and the Sunshine State Conference, serving as a volunteer coach for the Florida Southern program during the 2016-17 school year. Penberthy has some head coaching experience at the high school level. He led two separate periods as the head coach of the cross country and track program at Evangelical Christian School in Fort Myers, Fla. totaling four years.
