California Institute of Technology

Kelli Blake became the head coach of the Caltech men's and women's cross country and track & field teams in the fall of 2021.

In the past four seasons, the men’s and women’s cross country teams have accomplished their highest SCIAC and NCAA West Region finishes in the past forty years. The teams have had five individual appearances at the NCAA championships: Margaret Trautner in ’21 and ’22, Joey Litvin in ’22 and ’23, and Rohun Agrawal in ’23. The men’s and women’s track and field program has achieved program records in 17 events and over 120 Caltech All-Time Top 10 Individual Performances. In 2023, Kelli and assistant coaches Wyatt Meyring and Anna Valentine were named the SCIAC Men’s Cross Country Coaching Staff of the Year. Kelli was chosen by the Caltech undergraduate community as a recipient of the 2023 ASCIT Staff and Service Impact Award.

Blake previously spent five seasons assisting both programs at Washington University in St. Louis. While at WashU, her alma mater, Blake helped the Bears to the program's first NCAA Division III Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field National Titles in 2016-17, helped the women's cross country team to the Division III National Championship in 2018, and coached the men's 4x400 relay team to a second-place finish at the Indoor National Championships and to the top of the podium at the Outdoor Championships in 2019. Additionally, the women's cross country and track & field team made the podium at the national meet in every season between 2016 and 2019. Over this period, the Bears won four Program of the Year awards, which factors in the team's cumulative DIII national championship finishes across every season. While with the Bears, Blake coached sprinters, but also spent time with each of the other event groups while serving as the primary recruiting coordinator for the track & field team.

Blake also spent two years as the cross country and track & field head coach at Fontbonne University where she helped develop a power event group and oversaw the breaking of 17 school records.

The Colorado native is also no stranger to the west coast. Blake assisted at fellow SCIAC member Occidental College for two years between 2011 and 2013 where she worked primarily with middle-distance runners and coached four conference scorers and one All-American. Later, Blake received her Master's in Coaching and Athletic Administration from Concordia University in Irvine, Calif. Blake was also a decorated athlete for the Bears in St. Louis, where she became a DIII All-American in the distance medley relay in 2008 and competed at the national meet in the same event two years later. Blake's passion for collegiate athletics and experience competing and coaching in Division III make her an ideal fit to lead the Beavers.