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PUPPIONE NAMED HEAD MEN'S AND WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY COACH

DAVIS, Calif. - Chris Puppione, a member of the UC Davis cross country staff the past 
four years as well as an assistant coach with the track and field programs, has been 
elevated to head coach for both the men's and women's cross country teams, it was announced 
on Tuesday.

Puppione has already gained extensive cross country experience with the Aggies having 
overseen the men's team the past two seasons as an assistant coach. Prior to that he 
served as assistant coach for both the men's and women's teams under former head coach 
Jason Jaques.

Deanne Vochatzer, who was the director of the cross country programs the past two years, 
will now solely focus on track and field as the director of the women's team. She had 
coached the Aggie women's cross country team since 2006 and has been a coach with the 
track and field programs for 17 years.

"Chris has grown with our program over the past four years and his new duties are 
reflective of that," said Vochatzer. "He has an excellent work ethic and gets the most 
out of his student-athletes. We're excited for him to guide our cross country teams as 
we move forward in Division I."

Puppione will continue to serve as distances coach for the track and field programs.

He came to UC Davis after serving as cross country coach at Amador Valley High School in 
Pleasanton where he led the girls team to a North Coast Section runner-up finish and a 
sixth-place showing at the 2004 state meet. Puppione, who earned his undergraduate degree 
in creative writing from Sonoma State in 1997, was also a prep coach at Paracelte, Cardinal 
Newman and Ursuline high schools from 1998 to 2003.

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