Parker Cowles enters his second season as the assistant cross country coach after four years of competition in cross country and track and field at Air Force Academy as well as a military career as an Air Force officer from May 2009 to June 2010.

As an officer, Cowles planned all Columbus Air Force Base public relation events and coordinated and scheduled media coverage for a weekend long air show. He also wrote articles for the Columbus Air Force Base weekly paper, Silver Wings.

Cowles tenure in the Air Force lent to a wealth of leadership experience. In the fall of 2007, he served as a Cadet Squadron Element Leader. His duties included mentoring underclassmen in military, athletic and academic development. He also led a nine-man team in field activities and evaluated individual duty performances as well as published appropriate performance reports.

In 2009, Cowles continued his leadership role as a Cadet Squadron Director of Operations where he led a 100-man squadron in a two-week unit compliance inspection and oversaw travel arrangements of all squadron members on military leave.

As an athlete, Cowles earned eight varsity letters as a Division I long distance runner and competed in six Mountain West cross country and track and field championships were he recorded two podium finishes. Cowles was a runner-up at the 2008 Drake Relays in the 10,000 meters. His career best in the 10,000 meters was 30:31 at the 2009 Mt. SAC Relays. His best in the 5,000 meters was 14:35 and his best in the 3,000 meters was 8:33.

In his first year at Idaho State, Erica Wendt-Richardson became the first women's cross country runner to win the Big Sky Cross Country championship. That same year, the Bengal women placed third at the Big Sky championships.

Cowles graduated from Air Force in May 2009 with a Bachelors of Science in American History. He graduated with Athletic Honors as a student-athlete who had been on the Superintendent’s List for one semester and on the Dean’s List for three.