Las Vegas, New Mexico - Over the past three and a half decades,
Bob DeVries has built the New Mexico Highlands University cross country program into a national presence, one that competes in the toughest conference in the country and consistently produces All-Americans.
This week, DeVries finds himself in a familiar place: Kenosha, Wisconsin. He's there to coach one of his runners as he competes in the Division II National Championship race on a course DeVries quite literally helped build; a full-circle moment in an illustrious career.
The 2025 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships will take place on the Wayne E. Dannehl National Cross Country Course at the University of Wisconsin - Parkside, widely regarded as one of the nation's premier venues for the sport. Known for its challenging terrain and storied history, the course regularly hosts conference and regional meets. This year marks the fourth time it will serve as the site for the NCAA Division II Championship, set for this Saturday morning.
In the mid-1970s, however, the University of Wisconsin - Parkside did not yet have a completed course. The school's athletic director, Wayne Dannehl, was still in the process of designing it. DeVries, originally from Bristol, Wisconsin, a small town just west of Kenosha, was a family friend of Dannehl. Through that connection, he first helped by clearing weeds from the baseball field and spent the next two summers helping build "the course."
"Most of the young people I knew were afraid of Wayne," remembers DeVries. "He was tough, disciplined and no-nonsense. But he was kind to me when he didn't need to be."
That relationship helped grow DeVries in running and helped chart his future in the sport.
"When Dannehl gave me my first pair of running shoes, he waved it off as nothing," said DeVries. "But he told me, 'You need the right shoes if you plan on being successful.' That sparked something in me about taking running and training more seriously."
After his running career at New Mexico Highlands, DeVries was an assistant coach with the 1981 cross country team that finished 8th at the NAIA National Championships…on the course at Wisconsin-Parkside. Dannehl had the Highlands team to his home for dinner on that trip and developed a lasting friendship with then Cowboy coach Ron Maestas.
In the late-1980s New Mexico Highlands suffered through coaching turnover with the cross country program. One coach who accepted the job didn't even show up on campus to start the season. At that point DeVries approached then athletic director Rob Evers and offered to take over the program and do it for free.
Evers considered the offer and then replied, "I can't do that".
A disappointed DeVries thought he meant that he couldn't hire him. Apparently Evers meant that he couldn't work for free and he offered DeVries the job for $1500 a season.
That was 35 years ago and, in retrospect, money well spent by New Mexico Highlands.
There is a long list of successful runners who have competed at New Mexico Highlands under Coach DeVries, and near the top of that list is Andrew Amor, the 2023 RMAC Runner of the Year and a three-time All-American. Amor arrived at New Mexico Highlands in the fall of 2019 as an unheralded recruit from Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, and left five years later as one of the most decorated athletes in school history. He credits much of that success to Coach DeVries.
"Coach turned a kid who knew very little about training into a true student of the sport. He made me fall in love with the process," said Amor reflecting on his time training under DeVries. "I became disciplined, intentional, and passionate about my training, nutrition, and recovery. His belief in me and the way he would do anything for his athletes made me want to become the best runner I could be, not just for myself, but for him."
With Amor, and with many of the student-athletes who worked with DeVries over the years, the relationship became about more than just the races.
"We achieved things that only two people in the world believed were possible...Coach and me," Amor continued. "More than anything, Coach became one of the greatest mentors and role models in my life. It was an absolute honor to run for him and a blessing I'll always be thankful for."
Laurent Ngrikamaro was running for Abilene Christian University and decided to transfer after the 2006 season. Through his research and contacts in the sport he reached out to DeVries about coming to New Mexico Highlands.
"I was looking for a school that was family oriented that would welcome my wife and child along with me," remembers Ngrikamaro. "
Bob DeVries promised me that this school would be the right place for me and my family and it was. He is a man of his word."
In 2007, Ngrikamaro became the first runner from New Mexico Highlands to win an NCAA Regional Championship.
"I remember speaking with Bob the morning of that race," said Ngrikamaro. "He simply asked me 'How do you feel?' I felt strong and raced well and when I took off they couldn't catch me."
Current NMHU runner, sophomore
Weldon Chebon, fresh off his win at the South Central Regional Championship earlier this month, will join DeVries on the trip to Wisconsin. Chebon understands what the location of this year's National Championship means to his coach.
"It's really meaningful to race near Coach DeVries' hometown. He's done so much for our team, and it feels great to compete in a place that's personally significant to him," said Chebon. "It adds an extra layer of motivation to run hard and make him proud in front of people and places that mean a lot to him."
DeVries and Chebon will be at the Wayne E. Dannehl National Cross Country Course at the University of Wisconsin - Parkside on Saturday morning looking to continue building their legacy.
For
Bob DeVries, the trip back to Wisconsin is more than just another championship, it's a reminder of where it all began.
