CHARLESTON, S.C. – Cameron Ruppe, a rising up-and-coming coach with Big South ties, has been announced as the women's cross country and women's distance runners coach for the Charleston Southern programs beginning with the 2022 season.

"We are extremely excited to have Cameron join our staff," Buccaneers director of cross country and track & field Jim Stintzi said. "He is a young coach, who in his brief career, has already demonstrated that he can develop talent, as well as coach athletes at the highest level. Cameron will be the primary coach for women's cross country and the women's distance runners in track. I'm confident he will continue to build on the foundation Coach Aaron Iaun has built over the last few years and am excited to see the impact he has on both the cross country and track programs at CSU."

Ruppe arrives in the Holy City, for the second time but first at Charleston Southern, after serving as Campbell's assistant cross country and track & field (distance) coach since last October. With the Camels, who won the 2022 men's indoor Big South title, he coached a trio of outdoor track national finalists, including multi-time All-American Athanas Kioko who graduated from the university as one of its most decorated athletes. Kioko added appearances in the NCAA Cross Country Championships after garnering a first-place time during the NCAA Southeast Regional meet on his way to being named the region's athlete of the year, an award which also was bestowed upon him by the Big South.

Overall, Ruppe coached two All-Americas, three Big South Runners of the Year, 10 track conference champions, two all-region performers, seven school record breakers and several others during his short stint in Buies Creek, North Carolina.

"My wife Lauren and I are thrilled to be back in Charleston," Ruppe said. "I have admired the school, program and coaching staff here for a while and am honored to be a part of it. The women's distance runners have had a lot of success and I am excited to build upon that and help take them to new heights."

Prior to arriving at Campbell, Ruppe spent the May 2020 through October 2021 at Louisburg College in Louisburg, North Carolina. He was named a two-time NJCAA Region X Coach of the Year, led the charge for a pair of All-Americas and set five school records. He coached the region's athlete of the year in three different categories (2020 cross country, 2021 indoor field, 2021 indoor track), guiding his program to the region title in cross country and indoor track & field. The Hurricanes placed 15th at the indoor national meet, the highest team finish in school history, while the 12th-place result during cross country matched the program's all-time best.

He also served as the academic advisor for his teams with the men's cross country program tallying the second-highest team GPA within the athletic department.

Ruppe's first stint in Charleston came from August 2019 through May 2020 as the assistant cross country and track & field coach at College of Charleston. With the Cougars, he oversaw three Top-10 performances during the cross country campaign and helped the men's and women's programs garner USTFCCCA All-Academic Team recognition, including the men's squad with the highest GPA at CofC.

In 2018-19, he served as the assistant cross country and track & field coach at Buena Vista, helping the programs to five school records and 15 Top-10 performances. The women's cross country program was honored with academic accolades from the USTFCCCA. The men's squad posted its best regional finish in a decade under his guidance.

His first stint in coaching came while he was still a collegiate undergraduate, serving as the assistant cross country and track & field coach at Rock Hill High School. There, Ruppe guided the squads to four team regional championships with 15 individual region titles, eight all-state honors and three state runner-up results. Eight of his athletes earned collegiate scholarships.

Ruppe competed collegiately at Winthrop from 2014 through 2018, seeing time in cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field. He placed fourth at the 2017 Big South Championships in the steeplechase, two years after a seventh-place finish in the same event.

He graduated from Winthrop in May 2018 with a bachelor's degree in special education. He's currently pursuing his master's in sports administration from Arkansas State with an anticipated graduation in Fall 2022.

He and his wife Lauren are expecting their first child in November.