Former Caltech coach Kelli Blake joins UNM distance staff

Kelli Blake has joined UNM’s distance staff, bringing to Albuquerque a coach whose Caltech teams reached their highest SCIAC and NCAA West Region finishes during her tenure. The hire adds another postseason-tested voice to the Lobos’ distance program.

UNM’s official cross country and track and field account welcomed Blake to New Mexico with the message, “Welcome to New Mexico, Coach Blake!” and identified her as a former Caltech head coach joining the Lobos as an assistant coach for the distance program. The announcement cast her arrival as a championship-level addition for a group already taking shape under head coach Darren Gauson.

That existing structure matters. UNM named Gauson its track and field and cross country coach on June 30, 2023, then added Elisabeth Danis as assistant track and field and cross country coach on Aug. 14, 2023. Blake now joins that staff in Albuquerque, giving the Lobos another coach with direct experience leading both men’s and women’s distance programs.

At Caltech, Blake served as head coach of the men’s and women’s cross country and track and field teams from Fall 2021 through Spring 2026, according to the school’s athletics pages. Caltech said her teams produced their best SCIAC and NCAA West Region finishes while she was in charge, a measurable sign of progress in both conference and regional competition.

Her Caltech résumé also included staff recognition. The school said Blake was part of the coaching staff that won the 2023 SCIAC Men’s Cross Country Coaching Staff of the Year award on Oct. 31, 2023. That kind of postseason credential gives UNM a coach who has already overseen program results tied to championship-level performance.

For the Lobos, the move means the distance group now includes Gauson, Danis and Blake, with Blake bringing experience from Pasadena to Albuquerque and a record built on results rather than reputation alone.