Where Are They Now? Founding member of Jaguars’ cross-country program thrives as educator, coach

Dustin Ross has a former classmate to thank for bringing him to Augusta almost 10 years ago.

Holly Keeper was being recruited the year before his senior year, and then-coach Adam Ward was in the process of starting a men’s cross-country program. Ross remembers at the time he wasn’t sure he wanted to be part of an upstart program.

Ross and Keeper kept in touch, and once the men’s program was finalized, Ward mentioned to her that he wanted Ross to be part of his first team.

“I guess around Christmastime of my senior year, the program became official, so I came down for an official visit and just fell in love with the Summerville Campus,” said Ross, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in kinesiology and exercise sports science.

“The campus was beautiful, and that Southern hospitality that I received was great. Coach Ward brought in the other incoming freshmen recruits to meet me at the local Mellow Mushroom, and it felt nice that the whole team would want to come to Augusta to come to meet me and help with that recruitment. I thought, this is a pretty cool place to come, so I just decided to jump in and do it.”

Ward, now head coach at the University of Maine, said during Ross’ recruitment it was “wild seeing all of those guys who were the ‘founding fathers’ of Augusta State University men’s cross-country.”

“I remember them all going out for a run that day, and I told one of them just as they were running down the canal path, ‘Look … this is the future of ASU men’s cross-country.’ I’m pretty sure, in that moment, Dustin and all the other guys had made an instant connection on that path. A place where they would end up running miles of long and easy runs and workouts.”

Before attending Rifle High School in Rifle, Colorado, Ross was a member of a travel basketball team, and his then-coach mentioned an opportunity to run cross-country to stay in shape and possibly earn a little bit more playing time. Ross heard playing time and started running.

“I really enjoyed the aspect that you can improve your running performance based on the time and effort you put into training and recovery. So much different from team sports … more objective.”

Even though he was still playing basketball, by his junior year he had a knowledgeable coach who helped him enhance his times, launching his journey as a college runner.

While he had reservations at first about joining Augusta’s team, that quickly disappeared once he started training with his teammates.

“Coach Ward really was able to sell us on his philosophy,” said Ross, who is currently working for Florida Virtual School as a physical education teacher and was previously a coach before joining them. “His morals, values and approach to training, as well as the fact that he believed in me as a person/athlete, because during my senior year, I was kind of plateauing and not seeing much progress.”

Ward said Ross always had a great work ethic and was always looking for ways to get better, asking questions and leading by example.

“He had a few missteps early on, as young people sometimes do, but he overcame those obstacles and became a leader on the team and one of the best male runners in AU history,” Ward said. “He was the first male runner to earn All-Peach Belt Conference all four years of cross-country and did it three more times in track once we finally started that program.”

Ross also earned NCAA All-Region honors from 2011-13, as well as conference runner of the week honors three times. As a team, they won their first conference championship two years into the program’s existence.

During the 2013 season, Ross qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 1,500-meter run and was going to head home to Colorado to compete. He had plenty of support from his family and friends who had not been able to see him in person during his collegiate career. He did say it was bittersweet to compete without his teammates and only having Ward by his side, but he cherished his chance at competing against other national-caliber runners from across the country.

“The early success kind of catapulted the mindset of being successful and winning, not only for myself, but for the team moving forward,” said Ross, who still holds the conference championships meet record in the 1,500. “I think I had a successful career, and that’s definitely a tribute to Coach Ward and my teammates that all had that common mindset of just going to work every day.”

After graduating, Ross worked as an assistant coach under Ward, as well as working with another Jaguar alum, Jenafer Forward McCauley, while he was looking for a way to get into teaching and coaching.

In 2016, he landed his first high school coaching position, and one more stop later, he transitioned to Florida Virtual School, which was established 26 years ago and is a fully accredited, statewide public school district offering more than 190 courses to kindergarten through 12th-grade students.

At a professional development day during that time, he met his wife Baylie. They have two children, Lake, 3, and Lemon, 10 months.

“It was definitely one of those unique experiences. I remember calling my mom after our first date and telling her, ‘Yeah, I think I just met my wife.’ We’re straight-to-the-point kind of people, but we had a lot of common interests. And both of us being former athletes, that was a huge bond for us,” he said. “To this day, we’re super competitive.”

Karen Wish, PhD, Graeme Connolly, PhD, and Charles Darracott, EdD, are three professors Ross thanks for a “wonderful experience” during his time at Augusta, saying all the content he learned in class was vital to his athletic and professional success. Ross said the key to being successful while following your dreams is working hard and finding those people who have come before you who will help push you toward your goals.

“Being equipped with the knowledge and skills to be confident doing what I do every day has been huge,” Ross said. “The friendships that I gained and the people who I worked with, I definitely wanted to emulate that with the kids I work with, just like how I interacted with Coach Ward and with my professors. I want the students I work with to work hard, and I want to be available to them and let them know people care.”