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Herbster is in his fourth year at Charlotte, and earned a promotion to associate head coach in the summer. He coaches the 49ers in distance events and oversees the cross country teams during the fall.
Brad has made an immediate impact on the 49ers' distance program since his arrival. Under his watch last year, Cassie Ficken became the first-ever distance event athlete at the school to compete at the NCAA Indoor Championships. She came within four seconds of the school's first-ever national championship in any sport, and was the first female in school history to earn an indoor All-America award. She also advanced to the NCAA Championships during outdoor season in the 5,000. Cassie completed the calendar-year triple by moving on to the 2005 NCAA Cross Country Championships this fall.
At the most recent cross country conference championships, five runners earned All-Atlantic 10 Conference honors. That matched last year's totals in the teams' final Conference USA meets. Ficken earned the team's second All-Region award in as many years with a ninth-place finish this fall. 2004 top men's finisher Ed Schlichter earned All-NCAA Southeast Region honors as well as a share of the Conference USA Male Cross Country Athlete of the Year award. Freshman Nick Sunseri became the first athlete in Charlotte history to qualify for the World Cross Country Junior Championships in 2004. Three distance event student-athletes have earned USA Track & Field Junior All-American status in the last two years, including Ryan Jank last spring.
In addition to impressive individual performances, Herbster has guided the 49ers to team success as well. In 2002, his first year with the cross country teams, the men won their first-ever Conference USA championship and in 2004 earned the runner up spot. For his efforts in 2002, Herbster earned C-USA Coach of the Year honors. The women have shown similar improvement under his direction. In 2003, they finished fourth at the league championships, matching their best showing since 1997. They improved that to an all-time best runner-up performance this fall at the 2005 Atlantic 10 Championships.
Prior to joining the Niners program, Herbster spent one season at Hopewell High School, where he started the track program from scratch at the first-year school. In their inaugural season, he coached the team to a second-place finish in the MECA 8 conference. He had four runners earn all-conference honors, including one who represented the school at the state championships.
Before moving to Hopewell, he served three years as the head cross country coach and distance coach for track at nearby North Mecklenburg, where he earned Coach of the Year honors from the Charlotte Observer for the 2000-01 season. While at North Meck, he produced six All-Americans and five North Carolina state champions. Herbster's teams were equally successful, capturing the state 4-A championship in cross country in 2000 and runner-up finishes in cross country in 1999 and outdoor track in 2001. He was named NCHSAA Coach of the Year in 2000.
Herbster graduated from South Carolina in Dec. 1991, where he competed for the cross country and track and field teams. He was a three-time all-conference performer. He also was a solid performer on the track, setting the school's class record in the steeplechase as a senior. Herbster is USATF level 1 Certified.
