Dan Roark enters his sixth season at the helm of the men’s cross country team, and eigthth season overall after serving as an assistant during the 2014 and 2015 seasons. 

The Leopards were crowned as Commonwealth Coast Conference Champions in 2017 for the third straight season, and saw one of its top runners compete at the National stage. In back to back seasons in 2016 and 2017, Roark has coached at least one athlete into the NCAA Division III Championships. The Leopards saw three runners earn All-Conference accolades at the league championship meet, before placing 17th out of 54 teams at the NCAA Division III New England Regional Meet. 

Roark led the Leopards to a Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship in his first season at the helm of the program, and earned CCC Coach of the Year honors after the standout campaign in 2016. Roark and the Leopards placed three runners in the top five in the championship event, and three runners were awarded with All-Conference honors. In just its third season as a program, the Leopards finished 14th of 56 total teams at the NCAA Regional meet and sent a runner to the NCAA Division III Championships. In 2018, the Leopards finished third while finishing as runner-up in 2019. Since the inception of varsity cross country, the Leopards have finished no lower than third at the conference championships.

A native of Dracut, Mass., Roark competed in cross country, indoor, and outdoor track and, first, Quinnipiac University and then Saint Joseph’s University, both Division I institutions.

While competing in indoor track at Quinnipiac he claimed the Northeast Conference 3000-meter title, was second in the 5000-meter race and for his efforts he was named Northeast Conference Most Outstanding Rookie Performer in 2009. He also helped the Bobcats to an NEC Championship in cross country in 2008 while also earning All-NEC honors for his 11th-place finish at the championships.

Roark transferred to Saint Joseph’s and ran personal bests in track of 3:54.68 in the 1500-meter, 14:48.71 in the 5000-meter, and 9:05.26 in the 3000-meter steeplechase. He qualified for the IC4A Championships twice in indoor track and three times in outdoor track.

He earned his Bachelor’s degree in economics in 2012 and his Master’s in Business Administration in 2013.

Roark also enters his second season at the helm of the indoor track program. In its first inaugural varsity season after having spent one year as a club sport in 2015, the Leopards produced an All-American in Dan McSolla, a distance runner who finished eighth in the mile at the 2017 NCAA Division III Men’s Indoor Track & Field Championships.

While not coaching, he can be found on campus as he works within the Student Service Center at Wentworth.

Wentworth at the CCC Championship under Roark...

(Updated:  08/02/21)