Track & Field
- Title:
- Volunteer Coach - Distance
Robert (Rob) Beamer enters his sixth season as a volunteer coach for the UCLA Cross Country and Track & Field programs, specializing in the distance events.ย
Beamerโs presence on teh staff helped the Bruinsโ young distance squad solidify a strong year in cross country. Peter Herold earned All-Region honors after a 25th-place finish at the NCAA West Regional Championships. The Bruin men took sixth at the Pac-12 Meet while the UCLA women improved two spots to take eighth place overall. True freshmen Mia Kane and Audrey Allen became key contributors on the womenโs side and junior Emma Tavella developed to become a No. 1 runner for the Bruins in postseason competition.
Beamer was on the distance staff that helped guide UCLA Cross Country program to a successful season in a shortened 2020 campaign. The Bruin men and women each earned team victories at the Arizona Invitational (Feb. 5) and Dave Murry Invitational (Feb. 19). Michael Mireles earned an individual victory at the Arizona Invite on his freshman debut with the Bruins. Beamer led six Bruin men to crack 3:50.00 in the 1500m, including Munir Kabbara, who ran 3:47.24 against USC to break the Lebanese national record in the event. Peter Herold etched his name in the UCLA record books after running 8:42.94 in the steeple at Pac-12s, the fifth-fastest time in program history. Beamer also helped lead the Bruin women to a sweep of the distance events against USC, as Paige Carter (1500m), Emma Tavella (3000m), and Kira Loren (3000m steeplechase) picked up wins against the Trojans.
The 2019 cross country season saw Brandt (fifth), Garrett Reynolds (10th), and Colin Burke (11th) notch top-11 finishes at the Pac-12 Championships. Reynolds, Burke, and Christina Rice both qualified individually to compete at the NCAA Championships. Rice went on to earn USTFCCCA All-America honors with a 37th-place finish at Nationals.ย
Beamer helped coach Robert Brandt to three first-team All-America honors in the 2019 track season (Indoor: 3000m, 5000m; Outdoor: 10,000m). The UCLA men and women ย also swept victories in the 1500m, 3000m, and 3000m steeplechase against USC.ย
The womenโs cross country team continued to improve in Beamerโs third year on the staff, finishing fifth overall at the Pac-12 Championships, the teamโs highest placement since a fifth-place finish in 2014. Beamer helped then-sophomore Erika Adler qualify individually for the NCAA Championships. The menโs team picked up five top-50 finishes at West Regionals in 2018.
Beamerโs second year on the distance coaching staff saw the Bruin menโs cross country team make its second-straight team appearance at Nationals, finishing 21st overall. The menโs squad secured fifth place at NCAA West Regionals following its second-straight third-place showing at the Pac-12 Championships. The womenโs team finished 12th and eighth at Regionals and Conference, respectively.
In his first year on the cross country staff in 2016, Beamer helped the Bruins send both their menโs and womenโs squads to the NCAA National Championships.
Prior to coming to UCLA, Beamer coached for two stints at UC Santa Barbara under head coach Pete Dolan. His most recent (2011-2015) saw him working with the throwers, sprinters and vaulters. In 2012, Beamer was part of a staff that coached the Gauchos to the highest point total in program history on the menโs side which earned a Big West conference title, with the women finishing as first runners up by a half point margin.
Athletes Beamer worked with at UCSB included NCAA championship qualifier and USATF 2015 heptathlon top finisher Barb Nwaba, who Beamer coached as a freshman (2007). NCAA championship qualifiers Beamer trained at UCSB included Jen Carey (400 meters, 52.29), Jessica Johnson (400 meters, 52.5) and Albert Hughes (hammer, 209-3).
