"Head Coach By the Numbers"
Big South Freshman of the Year – 1
Big South Runner of the Year - 1
Big South All-Conference Selections – 18
UNC Asheville School Records Coached - 3

Big South Championship Finishes Under Puett

Year:	Spring 2021	Fall 2021	Fall 2022	Fall 2023	Fall 2024	Fall 2025
Women:	3rd	4th	7th	4th	4th	2nd
Men:	4th	3rd	3rd	2nd	3rd	3rd

Adam Puett begins his sixth year as the UNC Asheville Head Cross Country Coach and 16th year with the UNC Asheville Track and Field/Cross Country program in 2025-26.

In 2025, Puett oversaw the best women's season since 2004, as the Bulldogs finished second at the Big South Conference Championships. Alison Graf led the squad with a seventh-place finish to earn All-Conference First Team honors and was followed by Isabel Richardson in ninth and Aneta Kucerova in 11th to earn All-Conference Second Team honors. The trio's recognitions marks the first time since 2003 that Asheville has had three women earn All-Conference honors. On the men's side, the Bulldogs earned their fifth-consecutive top-3 finish at conference, led by Jan Malek who finished ninth to earn Second Team All-Conference honors. The combined team's finish marks the highest for Asheville in 25 years, when both teams finished runner-up in 2000.

The 2024 season saw the men's team enter the season ranked No. 15 in the USTFCCCA Southeast Regional Rankings and continued their strong postseason tradition by finishing third at the Big South Conference Championships on Nov. 1, marking their fourth consecutive top-three finish at the conference meet. Asheville closed the season with a 17th-place finish at the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships on Nov. 15. Paul Kiprotich led the way at regionals with the highest finish among Big South competitors, earning Big South Conference Runner of the Year honors. His performance at the conference championships also secured Freshman of the Year recognition, making him Asheville’s first recipient of the award in 25 years.

Adam Hessler also delivered standout performances, earning Big South Weekly Honors on Sept. 18 after placing eighth out of 113 runners at the Furman Invitational while running a personal-best 6k time of 18:08.5. Hessler later broke the school record in the men’s 8k at the Big South Championships, finishing second overall in 24:06.8, and concluded his Bulldog career holding program records in both the 8k and 10k. As a team, the Bulldogs recorded 24 personal-best performances throughout the season. Additionally, Nate Sullivan was named a nominee for the inaugural Allstate and NACDA Good Works Team in recognition of his relief efforts during Helene. The women's team finished fourth at the Big South Championships with Aneta Kucerova leading the charge with a 19th-place finish.

Puett has cultivated a tradition of success within the cross country program. At the Big South Conference Championships in 2023, The Bulldogs had eight individuals earn All-Conference accolades, with Puett headlining the awards by being named the Big South Men's Coach of the Year. Puett is the first coach to earn this award on the men's side in program history. Adam Hessler and Jan Málek earned All-Conference First Team honors, while Daniel Hopkins, Isabel Richardson and Ella Moore earned Big South Second Team honors. Puett also guided Isabel Richardson to setting a new program record in the 5k, and saw Adam Hessler reset the 10k record, with Daniel Hopkins earning the No. 2 spot in the program. Jan Málek also set the freshman 5k record in 2023.

The men's cross country team saw its first ever USTFCCCA regional ranking in program history in 2023. The Bulldogs entered week three of last year's regional poll at No. 15 and moved up to No. 14 during weeks four and five. The Bulldogs finished the season at No. 17, following their 18th place finish at the NCAA Regional Meet. Asheville's 18th-place finish at regionals is the second year in a row the Bulldogs have placed in that spot, which is the highest team finish in 20 years.

During his first year at the helm, Puett guided the women's team to a 3rd place finish at the Big South Conference Championships, which was their highest finish in seven years. Puett also coached Adam Hessler and Clara Wincheski to All-Big South honors that year. In Puett’s second season as head coach, the men’s program had it’s highest conference finish in 22 years with a third place finish. In the 2021 season, both John Ciprich and Clara Wincheski earned All-Big South Conference honors, helping Wincheski be a 3-time All-Big South Conference selection and also held the women’s 5k school record holder with a time of 17:36. During the 2022 Cross Country season, Adam lead the men’s team to its first win in five years at the Winthrop Invitational. Later that season at the Live in Lou Classic, both John Ciprich and Adam Hessler broke the school record with Ciprich, running 24:18. At the same meet, the men’s team averaged a time of 24:56, which is the fastest team average in school history. At the Big South Conference Championships, Adam Hessler and John Ciprich received Big South All-Conference accolades, with the men’s team placing third

During track and field season, Puett oversees the men’s and women’s distance athletes.

During the 2025 season Isabel Richardson and Paul Kiprotich both broke the indoor school records in the mile and the 3,000m. The outdoor season was highlighted by Aneta Kucerova and Jan Malek winning the 3,000m steeplechase at the Big South Championships. Malek broke the school record in the steeplechase and the 1,500m and Adam Hessler broke the school record in the 10,000m.

In 2024, Alison Graf highlighted indoor season for the distance crew by earning Newcomer of the Year. Adam Hessler took second place during indoor season in both the 3,000m and 5,000m.

In the 2022 indoor and outdoor season, both the men’s and women’s team saw great success. Adam Hessler and Brock Newsome both broke the previous mile school record, which was set in 1996. At the Big South Indoor Championships, the men’s team broke the school record in the Distance Medley Relay and earned a second place finish. At the Big South Outdoor Championships, both Adam Hessler and Clara Wincheski had tremendous showings. Adam placed second , with a time of 30:11.76, which set a new school record. Clara ran the second fastest time in school history with a time of 36:30.04, which placed her fifth at the championships.

Before becoming the Head Cross Country and Associate Head Track & Field coach for the Bulldogs in 2020, Puett took the reins of the men's cross country and distance program during the 2015-16 season, and under his tutelage, the men's distance athletes made great strides. In 2016, the men's team had its best indoor season, scoring in every distance event from the 800m to the 5000m, with a highlight being an All-Conference selection in the distance medley relay, placing third. During the 2016 cross country season, the men were led by Dominic Collichio. He won the Asheville Invitational and placed seventh at the Big South Conference Championships, becoming the first men's Big South All-Conference athlete for UNC Asheville in 10 years. During the 2017 indoor and outdoor season, the men's team was highlighted by freshman Matthew Harding winning the 800m at both the indoor and outdoor Big South Conference Championships. Matthew was also honored by the Big South Conference by being named both the indoor and outdoor conference Freshman of the Year for 2017. At the 2017 East Regional Championships, Harding placed seventh with a time of 1:47.92 to become the first UNC Asheville men's athlete to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. He placed 22nd at the 2017 NCAA Championships, becoming an Honorable Mention All-American in the process. During the 2019 cross country season, under Puett's tutelage, Thomas Little broke a 20-year-old school record in the 8,000m race and became a Big South All-Conference selection in cross country. The 2020 indoor track and field season showed great promise for the entire program. Combined, the men's and women's teams showed their best finish in school history, which was highlighted by the men's 4x400m team winning the Big South Championships, along with both the men's and women's team placing second in the Distance Medley Relay Team, with the men's team breaking the school record. During the same weekend, Alyx Evans placed third in the women's 800m race to become an All-Conference selection.

Puett enjoyed an outstanding running career at Western Carolina University. He was the 2005 Western Carolina Male Athlete of the Year and 2006 Southern Conference Outdoor Performer of the Year. Puett earned All-Conference honors three times in cross country and 11 times in indoor and outdoor track. He was a five-time Southern Conference champion in indoor and outdoor track plus a four-time NCAA outdoor regional qualifier in the 1500 meter.

Before UNC Asheville, Puett served as an assistant coach at WCU for three years. The Alabama native coached 13 All-Conference performers and 6 Southern Conference champions during his tenure. He helped lead the Catamount programs to five different league championships. Puett graduated from Western Carolina in 2006 with an undergraduate degree in Business Administration.

And then earned his master's in Physical Education from WCU in 2009. Adam has a strength and conditioning certification through the USTFCCCA.

Adam and his wife, April, live in Asheville and have one son, Jackson.

Name	Title	Phone	Email Address
Adam Puett	Head Cross Country Coach	250-2308	apuett@unca.edu
Jason Cerilli	Assistant Coach - Cross Country/Track & Field		jcerilli@unca.edu

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