Cross Country Coaching Staff

Chad Balyo
Head Cross Country Coach

Chad Balyo is entering his fifth year as Men’s and Women’s Cross Country coach for Samford University. He also serves as the Assistant Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Coach, concentrating on the distance program. Balyo has been instrumental in the Bulldogs run to 12 Southern Conference championships, including the program's first four-peat of sweeping the men's and women's titles. He has coached a total of 9 NCAA All-Americans, including two NCAA National Runner-Ups in Allie Buchalski (2018 – Outdoor 5,000m) and Karisa Nelson (2019 – Indoor Mile) and has assisted in 22 Southern Conference Team Championships.

Balyo has led the women’s cross country team to runner-up finishes is the last four Southern Conference Championships. Most recently in the spring of 2022, under Balyo's tutelage, Ben Garner was a NCAA Nationals qualifier, earning All-America honors in the steeplechase with a time of 8:40.15. Additionally, Andrew McGinnis was named the 2022 Southern Conference Cross Country Freshman of the Year.

During the 2020 Indoor season, Balyo led Jose Penalver to an indoor school record in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:49.14, and the 2021 Indoor SoCon title where he set the meet record. In the outdoor season, under Balyo's tutelage, Ben Garner set a school record in the 3000-meter steeplechase crossing the line in a time of 8:50.81. Both Garner and Penalver were NCAA East Preliminary qualifiers.

In 2019, Freshman McKenzie Hogue finished 13th and was named the SoCon Freshman of the Year. Senior Dillon Dean was named first team All-Conference in cross country taking 6th place pacing the men’s team to a third-place team finish. At the NCAA South Region Championships, Dean would finish 17th, earning him All-Region Honors for the second consecutive year. Under the leadership of Head Track and Field Coach Rod Tiffin, Balyo assisted in sweeping both the 2020 Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track and Field Southern Conference Championships. The Men’s Championship was the first in Samford program history.

In his first year with the Bulldogs, Balyo guided Karisa Nelson to a National Runner-Up finish in the mile at 2019 NCAA Indoor Championships. Nelson was a 2018-2019 Southern Conference Champion Indoors in the Mile (4:38.23) and 800 (2:06.10) and Outdoors in the 1500m (4:18.52). Each of her three performances were Championship Meet Records. She would go on to qualify for the 2019 USATF Outdoor National Championships. In her last race of the 2019 season, Nelson finished 8th in the USA 1500m Final running an IAAF World Championship qualifying time of 4:06.14. Her time stands as the 9th fastest in NCAA history on the USTFCCCA all dates performance list.

Balyo comes most recently from Furman University where he was an assistant coach for the Track and Cross Country programs since 2013. Under the leadership of two time Olympian Robert Gary, Balyo helped assist the Paladins to five straight Men’s and Women’s Southern Conference Cross Country Championships from 2013-2017. The Men’s team qualified for three NCAA Cross Country National Championships (14’, 15’ and 17’) with the highest finish being 13th in 2015. The Paladin women placed 7th at the 2017 NCAA Cross Country National Championships under Balyo’s assistance.

On the track, Balyo served as the middle distance coach for the Furman distance program, concentrating on the 800m and 1500m events. Under his guidance, Ryan Adams set Paladin schools records in the indoor 800m (1:49.72), indoor mile (4:01.16) and outdoor 1500m (3:41.04) and was named the 2017 Southern Conference Indoor Male Athlete of the Year. Adams qualified to the 2017 NCAA Outdoor National Championships in the 1500m where he was named an Honorable Mention All-American.

In 2018, under Balyo’s tutelage, Kristlin Gear set Paladin school records in the indoor 800m (2:07.14), indoor mile (4:41.48), and 3,000m steeplechase (9:52.71). She was named the 2018 Indoor Southern Conference Freshman of the Year. Gear went on to qualify for the 2018 NCAA Outdoor National Championships in the 3,000m steeplechase where she was named an Honorable Mention All-American. She won the 2018 USATF Junior National Championships in Bloomington, Indiana in the 3,000m steeplechase. Gear represented the United States on the Junior National Team in the steeple where she finished 10th at the World Junior Championships in Tampere, Finland.

Balyo coached Emma Kuntz to a 800m outdoor Southern Conference Championship in (2:07.52 personal best) and Jake Ogden to a NCAA 1st Round Qualifier in the 1500m. (3:45.82). He mentored 2018 NCAA Outdoor 5,000m Runner up Allie Buchalski, and NCAA All-Americans Savanah Carnahan, Gabbi Jennings, Troy Reeder, and Frank Lara.

Balyo competed at The Ohio State University from 2006-2011, where he was honored as a four-time scholar athlete and Academic All-Big Ten Selection. He led the Buckeyes in multiple events in both Cross Country and Track throughout his collegiate career, including scoring at the Big Ten Championships in the 1500m, 3000m, 3000m steeplechase, and 5000m distances. Balyo qualified for two NCAA 1st round National Championships on the track. He ended his collegiate career with personal bests of 4:03.47 (mile), 8:06.81 (3000m), 8:53.52 (3000m steeplechase), and 14:16.35 (5000m).

A native of Springboro, Ohio, Balyo was a two-time Ohio High School Athletic Association State Champion in Cross Country and the 3,200m on the track. He earned All-American honors in the two-mile with a time of 8:52.76 at the Nike Outdoor National Championships. In 2012, he was inducted into the Springboro High School Athletic High School Hall of Fame.

Josh Reidinger
Assistant Distance Coach

Josh Reidinger is in his second year as an assistant coach on the Samford Cross-Country and Track and Field teams.

Reidenger ran cross-country and track and field at Samford from 1993 to 1997. He earned his degree from Samford in 1997.