Men's Cross Country 1/27/2025 5:25:00 PM Brenda Bogle

Lambert to head Florida National's cross country teams

HIALEAH, Fla. (Jan. 27, 2025) — Respected high school head coach Anne Lambert will be the face of Florida National University's cross country teams after being named the third head coach in program history. Lambert is the first female head coach in Conquistador history and will also serve as an assistant for men's and women's track and field.

Coach Lambert brings multiple years of coaching experience at the high school level to the Conquistadors' cross country and track programs. After five seasons as an assistant, she was named the cross country head coach at West Broward High School in the summer of 2024. She was also the Bobcat's assistant track coach for five months in 2020 before taking over the program in January 2021.

Decades before her time at West Broward, Lambert's first high school coaching stint was in 2001 at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. One year removed from graduating high school, she was an assistant cross country coach with the Raiders until November 2003. During her tenure, the cross country team finished in the top two at the state level twice, winning district, regional, and county championships on multiple occasions.

The Raiders also posted an undefeated regular season record each year during Lambert's stay and several top ten individual finishers at the state championships. After three seasons as an assistant cross country coach, Lambert was promoted to the Raiders' head coach in 2004. Lambert's first season saw her rebuild a team that lost six out of seven varsity athletes to graduation into a successful squad competing for state championship accolades.

FNU had three national qualifiers in the 2024 season with Lismar Bentancourt, Mario Martinez and Dimitrios Gkantatsios. Bentancourt also picked up the team's second-ever Continental Athletic Conference (CAC) runner-up at the championship in Lakeland, Fla. FNU continues its search for a team conference title and trip to NAIA Nationals under Lambert's capable hands.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Mario Martinez: 5' 7"; Freshman

Lismar Bentancourt: 5' 6"; Freshman

Dimitrios Gkantatsios: 5' 10"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Mario Martinez
: 5' 7"; Freshman

Lismar Bentancourt
: 5' 6"; Freshman

Dimitrios Gkantatsios
: 5' 10"; Sophomore