Dalton Graham enters his third season as the head coach of the Fort Lewis College cross country and track and field programs in 2026-27.
Graham continued to elevate the Skyhawks' track and field programs during the 2025-26 season, guiding Fort Lewis to several historic firsts at the NCAA Division II level.
During the indoor season, Brady Burrough became the first men's indoor NCAA qualifier in program history and went on to finish as the national runner-up in the mile, becoming the first men's indoor track All-American in Fort Lewis history.
The Skyhawks produced NCAA provisional qualifying marks across five events during the indoor season. Burrough and Armando Fuentes hit provisional standards in the 800m, while Burrough and Brody Hubbard accomplished the feat in the mile. Elijah Smith added provisional marks in both the 3,000m and 5,000m, and the distance medley relay team of Burrough, Payton Whitehead, Fuentes and Hubbard also achieved an NCAA provisional standard.
Fort Lewis rewrote the indoor record book along the way, establishing school records in the 400m, 800m, mile, 3,000m, 5,000m, 4x400m relay and distance medley relay. Four Skyhawks earned All-RMAC honors, including Smith in the 5,000m, Burrough and Hubbard in the mile, and Fuentes in the 800m.
The historic season continued outdoors as Smith became the first men's outdoor NCAA qualifier in program history. Smith placed 13th nationally in the 10,000m to earn Second Team All-America honors, another first for the Fort Lewis men's outdoor track and field program.
The Skyhawks recorded four NCAA provisional performances during the outdoor season, with Burrough qualifying in the 800m and 1,500m, Fuentes in the 800m and Smith in the 10,000m. Fort Lewis also established school records in the 400m, 800m, 10,000m, steeplechase and 4x400m relay. Smith added All-RMAC honors in the 5,000m.
Under Graham's leadership in 2024, the men's cross country team produced two All-RMAC performers—Eli Smith and Caden Resendez, both earning Second Team honors. At the highly competitive South Central Regional Championships, Smith and Cebastian Marquez earned All-Region recognition, with Smith going on to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships. There, he finished 49th overall, marking the second-highest individual finish in program history at the national meet.
The momentum carried into the track seasons in 2024-25. During the indoor campaign, Skyhawk athletes broke three school records in the 800m, mile and distance medley relay and hit NCAA provisional qualifying marks in the mile (Brady Burrough) and DMR (Brody Hubbard, Payton Whitehead, Aaron Busche and Burrough). Freshman Payton Whitehead added to the accolades with a Second Team All-RMAC finish in the 800m, placing fifth overall.
The success continued outdoors, where athletes again shattered three program records in the 800m, 1,500m and 10,000m and posted NCAA provisional times in the 1,500m (Brody Hubbard) and 10,000m (Alliyah Molina). Molina also delivered the program's lone RMAC podium finish, taking second place in the 10,000m.
Graham, an assistant with the programs in the fall of 2023, returned to Durango after a stint as the head coach at Clarke University (NAIA) in Dubuque, Iowa. As a member of the Skyhawks coaching staff, Graham guided the men's and women's cross country programs to new heights. For the first time in program history, both teams advanced to the NCAA Division II National Championships. The men placed 13th while the women earned a 20th-place finish—both program bests.
The teams compiled two All-Americans, one All-Region honor and six All-Conference nods in 2023.
Graham was a decorated athlete for Lake Erie College and Adams State University from 2013-19. During his time competing for the Storm, he broke seven school records in his senior season and earned Second Team All-Conference honors in the GLIAC. From 2017-19, Graham ran for Adams State while pursuing a graduate degree. In his first season with the Grizzlies in 2017, Graham was part of a national championship team in cross country.
He went on to become a three-time national qualifier in track. He placed sixth at the 2019 NCAA Division II Indoor Championships in the 5,000m, earning All-America honors and helping his team to a runner-up finish at the national meet.
Prior to his time at Fort Lewis, Graham spent two years as an assistant coach at Lake Erie College with full autonomy over the distance program. He coached five school records, recruited and coached the student-athlete of the year, and brought in influential recruiting classes. He later served one year as the head cross country coach at Tiffin University.
At Tiffin, Graham coached nine school records, 22 provisional marks, four conference champions, 13 conference podium finishes and the first women's distance national qualifier in school history.
Graham earned a bachelor's degree in sports studies with a minor in coaching from Lake Erie College and completed his master's degree in applied sport psychology at Adams State University.
