Cross Country Courtesy of College of Staten Island Sports Information

Staten Island's Akil St. Louis Selected ECC Representative for USTFCCCA DII Executive Track & Field Committee

Staten Island, NY – It was announced last week that Akil St. Louis has been named the East Coast Conference's representative on the Division II Executive Track & Field Committee.  The committee operates under the U.S. Track & Field and Cross-Country Coaches Association.  The USTFCCCA is a non-profit that represents Cross-Country / Track & Field coaches throughout the country.  The organization also posts regional rankings for NCAA programs across the nation based upon the results submitted through the Track & Field Results Reporting System (TFRRS).

St. Louis competed as a college athlete at the NCAA Division I level at Long Island University and currently owns a Distance Certification from the USTFCCCA as a coach.  In addition to his extensive coaching experience at the high school level, he has coached at both CSI and Alliance University at the college level.  Following the closure of Alliance University, St. Louis returned to CSI Athletics as the program's new head coach last season.

2024-2025 season will be the second year as head coach for St. Louis since taking over CSI's Cross-Country / Track & Field program.  In his first full season, the program drastically increased in numbers, broke numerous program records, and bolstered their standing in a highly competitive East Coast Conference.  Returning many of last year's key contributors, St. Louis and the Dolphins will look to further climb the conference ranks this year.  In addition to the competitive aspirations of the program, St. Louis will now also get the chance to serve the student-athletes of the conference in his new role.

"Advocacy is an important component for me and the program," St. Louis said.  "To be named the representative for our conference division and program is a unique honor not only for me but for the sport."  The CSI head coach admittedly didn't have to take much time to think about accepting his appointment when approached with the opportunity.  "When I was first approached by Coach Joseph Wassink, a Staten Island native and head coach at Limestone College, it was a no-brainer.  To be a part of such a prestigious organization as the USTFCCCA is a vehicle that I will utilize to uplift student-athletes in the ECC along with our own Track & Field program."

The CSI Track & Field program joined the East Coast Conference when CSI Athletics announced the move to NCAA Division II in 2019.  This gave the CSI student-athletes the unique opportunity to compete in a Division II conference championship for the first time that season.  2024-2025 will see the Dolphins compete in their fifth conference championship as they look to continue their trend of record-breaking efforts throughout the upcoming season.