Brian Whitlock is beginning his eighth season as head of the Wayland Baptist men's and women's cross country programs. The Pioneer men won the runner-up banner at the 2010 NAIA Cross Country Championships, the highest finish in the history of the program. Kennedy Kithuka became the first Wayland athlete to bring home the individual championship in 2010, and three other members of the team brought home All-American honors.

A 2001 graduate of Oklahoma Baptist University where he was a Sooner Athletic Conference Cross Country Champion and a NAIA All-American, Coach Whitlock immediately turned the WBU Cross Country program from an after-thought to a national contender when he took over the program in 2004.

In his first year at Wayland, Coach Whitlock was named the 2004 Sooner Athletic Conference and Region VI Men's Coach of the Year after leading Wayland to a second place finish. He was also named the 2006 Women's SAC Coach of the Year.

The Wayland cross country women, who were ranked nationally in 2006 for the first time in over a decade, also qualified for the national championships with a second place conference and regional finish.

In 2007, the Pioneer women won the conference and regional cross country titles and finished sixth at the NAIA Championships behind the performance of All-American Caroline Karunde, and last year they returned to the national forefront once again with yet another appearance at the national meet.

Whitlock won three NAIA Coach of the Year honors during his time as head of the Wayland Track and Field program. The Pioneer women's teams have won a combined four NAIA titles since 2007 and the men took its first-ever outdoor championship in 2010.

Mario Scott was a six-time NAIA All-American at Wayland from 2007-2011. A native of Christ Church, Barbados, he was on the 4x800-meter relay team that won the 2011 Outdoor National Championship, and was a part of the DMR team that broke the school record in 2010 with a time of 9:55.58.

He received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree with an emphasis on management/marketing in May 2011 and is currently working on a master's degree in health care administration.