Columbia Hires Graham as Next Cross Country Coach

(Story provided by Columbia Sports Communications)

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Columbia College Director of Athletics Glen Crawford has announced the addition of Tanner Graham as the next head coach of the Koala men's and women's cross country programs.

"Tanner is an ideal fit for our team at Columbia College," said AD Crawford. "His extensive coaching experience is a testament to his dedication, as evidenced by his success at Lexington High School. I am confident that Coach Graham is the perfect person for the job." 

"After spending six years in the high school ranks at Lexington and running one of the most successful cross country programs in the state of South Carolina, I am excited to begin my collegiate coaching career at Columbia College," commented Coach Graham. "I will be forever grateful to the people at Lexington who gave me a chance to coach, and I am extremely thankful to Mr. Crawford and President Dozier for giving me this exciting opportunity."

Graham, a native of Irmo, SC, has most recently served as the Head Girls Cross Country coach at Lexington, SC High School since the fall of 2018. He also served as the Lexington Wildcats Boys & Girls Head Track Coach for the past six seasons, as well, where he worked with both sprinters and distance runners. 

While at Lexington, Graham helped lead the Lady Wildcats cross country team to a county and region championship in the 2019 and 2020 seasons and a region championship the following season in 2021.

Graham was then named the USTFCCCA Girls Coach of the Year for S.C. in 2022 as he led his Lexington Girls team to the state championship. He has also led his Lady Wildcats to a state runner-up finish in the 2020, 2021, and 2023 seasons.

In 2023, Graham won the National Federation of High Schools (NFHS) State Coach of the Year as his girls' cross country team finished runner-up at the SC State Meet in November. The girls were also the 2023 Region 4 and 5A Champions. Coach Graham led his teams to the fastest team average (19:08) and lowest score at the state meet in the school's history. 

He has also coached numerous NCAA Division I and II athletes during his time at Lexington High.

When not coaching, Graham has been the sixth-grade English and language arts teacher at Beechwood Middle School since the summer of 2019. He began teaching sixth-grade English at Lexington Middle School in the Fall of 2015.

Graham received his B.A. in Elementary Education from the University of South Carolina, graduating in 2015 and is currently working towards attaining his Master's degree in K-12 special education from Arkansas State University.