K-State track introduces new coach with strong connection to Chris Klieman

MANHATTAN (KSNT) - There's a new era of track and field/ cross country coming to Manhattan, Kansas.

Following the retirement of longtime coach Cliff Rovelto, K-State Athletics welcomed its new head track and field/ cross country coach on Monday. Travis Geopfert comes to K-State with 22 years of coaching experience, 12 of which were as an assistant at Arkansas. The Razorbacks boast the most total NCAA championship victories of any school in the country between its indoor and outdoor seasons across men's and women's competitions.

Geopfert plans to bring his personal recipe for success to Manhattan.

"The team atmosphere and those individuals efforts, moving toward something bigger than themselves," Geopfert said of what he hopes to focus on. "I want to get in the mix. I want to get in the mix at the national level and in the Big 12 ... We're not going to participate, we're going to compete."

Though he comes from a renowned program, it's not lost on the new Wildcat that he has big shoes to fill within K-State track and cross country.

Rovelto found a fair share of success in his 32 years as K-State's head coach, and became known nationally for his coaching accomplishments in the high jump.

"Cliff is somebody I've looked up to for a long time, got a lot of my background in coaching and especially the high jump from him," Geopfert said. "I've been fortunate this last year to have a high jumper win both indoor and national titles with stuff I learned from [Rovelto] a long time ago."

Replacing a figure like Rovelto is no easy task, something K-State Athletics took to heart during the hiring process.

Head football coach Chris Klieman played an integral role in Geopfert's hiring. Geopfert says he was the first to reach out about the Wildcats' job opening.

"To get a recommendation from a guy like Chris, who I trust and really admire as a friend, started the process," athletics director Gene Taylor said. "When he applied and we got a chance to introduce him and meet him, I knew that, based on his experience, he was a guy we should probably do everything we can to get."

Klieman and Geopfert go back to their days at Northern Iowa, where they overlapped in their time as coaches. They've connected every now and then over the years, but will now share a campus yet again.

"Coach Klieman called me and so I wanted to park and talk," Geopfert said. 'My family's sitting in the van at a gas station for 30 minutes as I'm walking up and down the sidewalk and talking to Chris. He just gave tremendous advice and explained a lot about what Kansas State is all about, so I appreciate it tremendously."