Michael Marquardt begins his first season as assistant coach of the University of Montevallo men's cross-country program.

Marquardt served as the head coach of the men's cross country team for its first season in 2010 before stepping down to pursue other career opportunities.

The Falcons competed in their first run in September at the Georgia Southwestern Remembrance Run where they debuted with a fourth-place finish. The team finished seventh at the PBC Championships. He led three Falcons (Mark McDonald, Matthew Corn, Justin Arsement) to the Southeast Region Championships.

The program became the eleventh intercollegiate varsity program at Montevallo in the Fall of 2010.

A graduate of Birmingham-Southern College, Marquardt was a two-year letter-winner for the Panthers, qualified for the 2001 NAIA Outdoor Track National Championships, named team captain, and was named Academic All-Big South Conference in 2001. He earned his bachelor's degree in History with a minor in Sociology from BSC in 2002.

Prior to BSC, Marquardt was a two-year letter-winner at Bevill State Community College in Hamilton, named Academic All-American in 2000 and was part of teams that qualified for the NJCAA National Championships in 1998 and 1999.

Marquardt currently resides in Calera with his wife Julia and their two children, Owen and Elise.