Burnett Comes Home to Lead Delhi Cross Country Program He Starred In
Delhi Sports Information Department
Delhi, NY – SUNY Delhi has announced Chris Burnett as their next Head Cross Country and Assistant Track and Field Coach. This will be a homecoming for Burnett who graduated from Delhi in 2012.
Director of Athletics Robb Munro announced today "We are very excited to welcome Chris back to Delhi to take over as the cross-country coach. Chris has a long history of excellence and is a proud alum of the institution. His investment in this program already runs deep and he strongly believes in what Delhi can do for young people that want to achieve great things. His local ties, understanding of New York State athletics and history with the program make him uniquely qualified to lead this team to the next level."
Burnett, who grew up locally running for Bainbridge-Guilford/Afton during his high school career earned a state medal in cross country and won a New York State Division II Championship in the steeplechase in 2010. He was also a highly successful wrestler for the Bears, qualifying for the state championships numerous times.
After high school, he attended Delhi for two years where he was a first team NJCAA All-American both years in cross country. During his time on campus, he established the school record for the 8-kilometer distance in cross country that stood for 8 years and ran the fourth fastest steeplechase time in program history.
When asked what it meant to be back in Delhi, Burnett shared "I am incredibly excited to be back in Bronco land as the Head Cross Country Coach. Delhi has a long history of success and I'm eager to help build upon that. I'm looking forward to working alongside Coach Alex Devine to strengthen both the cross country and track and field programs. SUNY Delhi positively shaped me as a person and athlete so I am grateful for the opportunity to give back to the next generation of runners."
Following his time as a Bronco, Burnett moved on to Wichita State where he ran for the Shockers Cross Country and Track and Field programs. While at Wichita State, Burnett graduated with a Bachelor's Degree, and later a Master's degree, both in Exercise Science. As a runner, Burnett continued to develop, shifting his focus from the steeplechase to the 5,000 and 10,000-meter distances running personal bests of 14:22.51 and 29:49.8 respectively. Also during his time at Wichita State, he earned his first qualification to the Olympic Trials in the Marathon in 2016, running 1:04:24 for that half-marathon. That performance 24 in the Prairie Fire Half-Marathon established a Kansas State Record for the distance in a truly solo effort, running over three minutes ahead of the second-place finisher.
After college, Burnett qualified for the Olympic Trials in the Marathon a second time in 2020, this time competing in the event. During his professional career, he lowered his full marathon to best 2:18:14.
While training for his professional career running for Brooks, Burnett stayed on as an assistant coach at Wichita State for a year and a half and later returned for an internship within their strength and conditioning program. During this time he also started working as a running and strength specialist at TRUE Physical Therapy.
More recently he has spent the last three years taking on coaching duties at Andover Central High School in addition to his running and strength coaching with TRUE PT. At Andover, Burnett has seen great success within the program in a short time, helping the men to their first ever conference title in
2024 and the women to theirs in 2025. In the fall of 2025, the women's team qualified to the state championships.
Now Burnett will return home to take over as the head cross country coach and assistant track and field coach to continue to build the legacy of the program.
