Morning Sentinel staff report (www.onlinesentinel.com)

Bruce Bickford, famed distance runner and Northeastern Hall of Famer (Class of 1991), was named the head coach of the men's and women's cross country teams at Saint Joseph's College (Standish, Maine) on August 19.

Bickford takes over as the Monks' coach after guiding the Cheverus High School cross country and track & field programs for the last three years. Tying into Northeastern's cross country and track & field 2010-11 team, Bickford had the pleasure of coaching two incoming freshmen at Cheverus in Andrew Snyder (distance) and Jonathan White (thrower).

Prior to his stint at Cheverus, Bickford was the head coach at University of Southern Maine for four years and Brandeis University for seven seasons.

The Hall of Famer owns a litany of accomplishments from his time at Northeastern. Bickford owns three Huskies' records, including the steeplechase (8:33.6 – 4/29/77 - outdoor), the 2-mile (8:40.56 – 3/4/79 - indoor) and part of the record-setting distance medley relay (9:53.31 – 3/3/79 - indoor). He also is part of the second-fastest 4 x 800-meter relay (7:30.888 – 2/77 – indoor) and distance medley relat (9”42.9 – 4/29/78 – outdoor) teams in school history. His steeplechase clip of 8:38.5 ran in 1979 also stands as a New England Outdoor Championship record.

Along with five IC4A Championships, including a pair of 2-mile indoor crowns (8:45.3 – 1978 • 8:40.6 – 1979) and three steeplechase titles (8:48.6 – 1976 • 8:34.76 – 1977 • 8:38.0 – 1978), Bickford captured four New England championships. He won the mile in 4:04.2 (1977 – indoor) and three more steeplechase titles in 8:50.4, 8:41.9 and 8:38.5, respectively in 1976, 1978 and 1979.

In regards to cross country, Bickford placed 14th, overall at the 1976 NCAA Cross Country Championship (28:58.62) and followed it up with a 29th-place performance at the 1978 Championship (30:15.8).

Bickford went on to enjoy a fruitful career after representing the Huskies. He qualified for the Olympic trials for the 1980 Moscow games in the steeplechase, 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter and also earned the distinction as an alternate on the 1984 Olympic team. (The United States boycotted the 1980 Games).

In 1985, Bickford churned out the fastest 10,000-meter time in the world (27:37.7) after winning a race in Stockholm, Sweden. He also claimed the 10K at the PanAm Games in 1985 and 1987. In 1988, Bickford won the Olympic Trials in Indianapolis to earn a spot on the 1988 USA Olympic Team and became the only American to pass into the finals for the 10K in Seoul, Korea.

Not only is Bickford a member of Northeastern's Hall of Fame, but he has been enshrined in the Maine Running Hall of Fame (1989) and Maine Sports Hall of Fame (1993).