FAYETTEVILLE — Josphat Boit knows from personal experience what a junior-college cross country and track and field program can do for a young distance runner.
Being an NJCAA indoor track champion and All-American in cross country and outdoor track at Cowley (Kan.) College helped Boit get a scholarship offer from the University of Arkansas, where he was a two-time NCAA champion, eight-time All-American and six-time SEC champion from 2004-06.
Now Boit, 37, has been hired to be the first cross country coach at Northwest Arkansas Community College.
Cross country is the first varsity sports program at NWACC, which is located in Bentonville. The Eagles will begin competition this fall with men’s and women’s runners.
“It’s like building a house from the ground up,” Boit said. “It’s going to be fun and challenging at the same time. It’s a great opportunity to give back to the community and continue to be part of the sport that I love.”
Boit said he’s also thankful to be NWACC’s coach because he didn’t want to move his family — wife Shenin and daughter Fiona — away from Northwest Arkansas.
“We love it here,” he said. “This is home now.”
NWACC will have 10 scholarships to divide for men and women. There have been 11 runners recruited for the men’s team so far and four for the women’s team.
Aries Burosco, from Rogers High School, was NWACC’s first signee. Boit said he’s hopeful the teams will add walk-ons as well.
The Eagles are scheduled to open the season Aug. 27 at a meet hosted by the University of Arkansas Rich Mountain Community College in Mena. There are six meets on the schedule, including a return to Mena for the NJCAA Division II regionals on Oct. 30 and the NCCAA nationals in Richmond, Va., on Nov. 13.
Boit said the plan is for the runners to compete in indoor and outdoor track. He will begin coaching his new teams Sunday.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing everybody, and seeing how good we can be this first season,” Boit said.
NWACC will have its own on-campus cross country course that the Eagles will use for training this year and also can host high school meets.
Boit was hired at NWACC in February after being a volunteer assistant for Chris Bucknam — the Razorbacks’ men’s cross country and track field coach — the previous five years.
“I’ve been in their shoes, and I can tell them you don’t have to start at a four-year school to be successful,” Boit said of the junior-college athletes he’ll be coaching. “It was a great experience running for the coaches at Cowley, and they set me up for the next level of running.
“Going to [NWACC] and running for us and getting an associate’s degree can be a big step to help get to a four-year college. You can get there through a junior college.”
Boit returned to Fayetteville in 2016 after being a professional runner for 10 years while living and training in Mammoth Lakes, Calif. He moved to the ski resort town for altitude training because it’s at an elevation of about 8,000 feet above sea level.
“When I was in Mammoth Lakes, whenever I came back to Fayetteville for a visit, Chris was like, ‘C’mon to practice and meet the guys,’ ” Boit said. “We stayed in good contact.
“After I told him I was moving back to Fayetteville, he said, ‘Come be part of our team.’ It was one of the best times I’ve had.”
Bucknam said Boit’s running experience was an asset for the Razorbacks and now will be for NWACC.
“Josphat is just an unbelievable role model and unbelievable person to lead young people,” Bucknam said. “He’s going to be a great coach.
“I miss him a lot every day. He was somebody I really counted on. But I’m happy for him that he has this opportunity.”
John Luedtke, who will begin his 25th year at NWACC in the fall and is the school’s director of health, physical education and club sports, first proposed beginning a cross country program at a board of trustees meeting in October 2019.
“We’ve been wanting it for years, and it’s exciting now that it’s coming to fruition,” said Luedtke, who will be an assistant coach for the cross country teams.
A big selling point for Luedtke to the trustees was that adding a varsity sport will help boost NWACC’s enrollment and profile.
“Athletics is the front porch to your college,” said Luedtke, a former pitching coach for the Razorbacks. “Everybody sees it.”
Todd Kitchen, NWACC’s vice president of student services, praised Boit’s hiring and the significance of starting a cross country program.
“We think that offering a sport program such as cross country will attract more students to NWACC and enhance the pride in the college, both on campus and within the community,” Kitchen said in a news release.
Boit ran at Arkansas for the late John McDonnell, who as the Razorbacks’ coach led them to 40 national championships in cross country and indoor and outdoor track.
Running for McDonnell and working with Bucknam, Boit said, helped give him a blueprint for building a new program.
“Those two gentlemen taught me a lot,” Boit said. “Chris knows the sport inside and out, and of course, John McDonnell is a legend.”
Boit said he also gained insight from running professionally for coaches Terrance Mahon and Andrew Kastor, the husband of Deena Kastor, a former Arkansas All-American who won a bronze medal in the marathon at the 20o4 Olympics.
“I’ve been fortunate to always be around great coaches,” Boit said. “Now I can combine all that knowledge and apply it to my new job.”
Bucknam has led Arkansas to the 2013 NCAA indoor track and field championship, 24 top-10 national finishes in cross country and track and field and 27 SEC titles since 2008.
But there are things Boit has accomplished, Bucknam said, that he hasn’t.
“Josphat brought a wealth of knowledge to our program that I didn’t have,” Bucknam said. “I’m not an NCAA champion. I didn’t run for Coach McDonnell. I didn’t have a pro career.”
Boit said he still runs about 20 miles a week to stay in shape.
“I love running in the morning,” he said. “It refreshes my brain. So the first thing, I get out and run. Then I’m ready to go to work.”