Andrew Rickert is in his fifth year as the head coach of The College of Saint Rose men's and women's cross country teams. A certified Level I coach by USA Track & Field, Rickert has developed and instituted a long-term plan that has placed Saint Rose among the most rapidly rising programs in the Northeast.

During Rickert's tenure, Saint Rose has added a home meet, the Joust, improved its collective performance at the Northeast-10 Conference Championships each successive year, and the roster has more than doubled in size.

The Saint Rose women's squad put together their best finish ever at last autumn's NE-10 Championships. The club was sixth among 14 competing institutions, its best showing since 2000. Meanwhile, the men's team took eighth place at the 2005 meet in a tight race where only six points separated seventh through tenth place.

The Golden Knights also registered perhaps the best team performances ever in school annals at last year's NCAA Northeast Regional Championships. The men's squad recorded four of the school's ten swiftest 10k times within the past decade on the way to a tenth place finish among 20 complete squads. Meanwhile, the women's team had a trio of runners post three of the six fastest 6k times during the last seven seasons en route to an eighth place finish among 15 competing institutions.

Additionally, there was not a single senior listed on either roster a year ago and thus the program's best days are certainly ahead of it.

Rickert's teams have excelled in the classroom as well. Eight of the 40 Saint Rose student-athletes who were named to last year's NE-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll in recognition of academic excellence hailed from the cross country program.

An outstanding athlete is his own right; Rickert has been a competitive runner for 16 years, including four years at the University at Albany. He was the 1998 and 1999 New England Collegiate Conference indoor track and field champion in the 5,000 meters. Rickert was also named to the 1998 ECAC Division II cross country All-Conference team.

Rickert graduated magna cum laude from Albany in 2001 with a bachelor's degree in psychology and a minor in business. He received his master's in secondary education from Saint Rose last spring and is pursuing a full-time teaching position in English this fall.

Rickert is an active member of the Albany Running Exchange where he competes locally and helps direct various club events. He also competed in the National Snowshoe Championships in Vermont last winter. Rickert is currently setting his sights on his first attempt at the marathon distance sometime next year.

Rickert and his wife Jennifer divide their time between Albany and Virginia Beach.