In his sixth year as Christopher Newport’s head cross country coach and assistant track & field coach, Matthew Barreau has made an impressive impact on the program.
During his first five seasons, he has guided the Captains to eight cross country championships. Since 2011, the women have won all five league titles, including three straight since joining the Capital Athletic Conference in 2013. Meanwhile, the men have won three crowns, including the 2015 CAC title.
Along with success in the conference, Barreau’s squads have also made a mark on the national stage. The women finished second at the 2014 South / Southeast Regionals and advanced to the NCAA Championships for the first time in program history. The following year, in 2015, the men placed second at the regional meet and earned the team’s first bid to the national competition in over two decades.
For his efforts, he has received a host of awards. Barreau has been named the league’s Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year four times and earned the men’s honor on three occasions. Additionally, he was named the USTFCCCA South / Southeast Region Assistant Coach of the Year for his work during the 2012 outdoor and 2016 indoor track & field seasons.
Along with personal accolades and team success, Barreau has also helped the Captains achieve incredible individual accomplishments. In addition to sending the men’s and women’s cross country teams to the national championships, he also coached three individual qualifiers as Jade Zaharoff, Ray Gamache, and Lydia Cromwell all earned spots at the national meet.
Equally impressive working with the distance runners during the track & field season, Barreau helped Dira Hanson, Jessica McClelland, and Logan Harrington qualify for the NCAA Championships in individual distance events. He also guided the men’s Distance Medley Relay to a fifth-place finish at the 2016 NCAA Indoor Nationals, which earned the foursome All-American honors.
Before arriving in Newport News, Barreau served as an assistant coach at Bethune-Cookman during the 2009-10 season and Portland State from 2005-08. His resume also includes stints as an assistant coach at Concordia in Oregon (2008-09), Adams State (2004-05), and Western Oregon (2003-04) along with experience coaching at the high school level.
In all, he has spent 13 years in collegiate coaching and also served as an editor of RunnerSpace.com. During that time, he traveled extensively to cover meets across the country, including the Penn Relays, the USATF Indoor championships, and the USA Club Outdoor Championships.
Barreau, a native of Springfield, Oregon, is a 2004 cum laude graduate of Western Oregon University.
