Denison University Women's Cross Country

FitzPatrick begins his sixth season as the head men's and women's track and field coach in 2016-17.  This fall will also mark his second season as head cross country coach after spending the last two seasons as the program's co-head cross country coach alongside 37-year veteran Phil Torrens. As the head track and field and cross country coach, FitzPatrick will oversee recruiting efforts of both programs. In 2014-15 FitzPatrick coached Aedin Brennan to a national championship in the heptathlon at the NCAA Division III. That marked the first national championship by a female track and field athlete in program history.  In addition to Brennan's performance at the outdoor championship, Wallace Branche posted an All-American performance in the triple jump at the NCAA indoor championships. In 2013-14, FitzPatrick led the Denison women's indoor team to its first second-place finish since the 2005 season. Led by All-Americans and NCAC Athlete of the Year honorees Brennan and Tiffany Davis, DU finished 20 points ahead of third-place Oberlin. In the outdoor meet, the Big Red posted its second-straight third-place finish behind performances by Davis, Brennan and Olivia Galano, who all earned All-American status at the NCAA Championship meet. In cross country, Galano, the NCAC Runner of the Year, helped the women's team finish fourth in the conference, while the men took eighth. In his second season at Denison, FitzPatrick guided the Denison women's indoor and outdoor teams to a five-spot improvement in the North Coast Athletic Conference standings.  Led by Brennan and national qualifier and repeat NCAC Sprinter of the Year, Davis, the Big Red placed third in the conference at the indoor and outdoor championship.  In cross country, the DU women finished fifth while the men's team took sixth. In 2011-12, FitzPatrick led the Big Red to eight North Coast Athletic Conference individual titles and two All-American performances by senior Dee Salukombo.  Salukombo posted his best finish at nationals during the indoor season with a third-place finish in the 5K.  At the 2012 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championship, the senior battled through injury to take seventh in the 5,000-meter run.  Senior sprinter Chris Roth and sophomore sprinter, Davis, also qualified for the outdoor championship. At the conference level, Salukombo was named NCAC Distance Runner of the Year for the outdoor season after capturing conference titles in the 1500, 5000 and 10000-meter events.  The senior also won the 3,000-meter run during the indoor season.  Davis was a two-time NCAC Sprinter of the Year in 2012.  The sophomore won the 60 and 200-meter events during the indoor season and captured the 100 and 200-meter crowns at the NCAC outdoor meet. FitzPatrick came to Denison from Washington & Jefferson College where he has spent eight years as the head cross country and track and field coach. A six-time Presidents Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, FitzPatrick led his squads to four PAC championships during his tenure.  In 2011, FitzPatrick led his womens track and field squad to its third PAC title. The Presidents captured nine event titles en route to a 10-point victory over Westminster.  Following the meet,FitzPatrick was presented with his sixth Coach of the Year award.   At the conclusion of the 2011 season FitzPatrick was named the USTFCCCA Mid-East region women's track and Field Coach of the Year. He also guided the mens track & field team to their first PAC Championship in 2010, powered by seven event championships. In 2008, he coached W&Js first male All-American, Doug Melton, to an eighth-place finish in the discus at the national championship meet. A year later he coached the second female in school history to an All-American finish in the high jump. Prior to accepting the position at Washington & Jefferson he spent three seasons as the head track & field coach at Hiram College. While at Hiram he led the Terriers to their best finish in conference history and coached five individual conference champions.  Before taking over at Hiram, FitzPatrick served as the assistant womens cross country and track and field coach at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse from 1998-2000 where he coached seven Division III All-Americans and helped the Eagles to three Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles. FitzPatrick also spent two seasons as the assistant cross country and track and field coach at Allegheny College from 1996-1998, helping train five national qualifiers in cross country and track. A 1995 graduate of Fairfield (Conn.) with a double major in philosophy and political science, FitzPatrick went on to earn a masters degree in exercise and sports science from UW-LaCrosse.

Sarah Oprondek enters her eighth season coaching for the Denison University track & field programs in 2025-26. Oprondek works with the jumps and combined events. Oprondek earned a promotion to Associate Head Track & Field Coach in August 2024. She served as an assistant cross country coach at Denison for five seasons.  In addition to her coaching duties, Oprondek has served as a Coaching Mentor for the Female Coaches Mentorship Program through the USTFCCCA for the past three years. In the 2024-25 season, Oprondek would help the men’s track and field team to a third-place finish and the women’s team to fourth-place at the NCAC Outdoor Championships. The men’s recorded 99 total points while the women’s tallied 83. Both teams saw multiple champions across the board, with six claiming championships in their respective events. Most notably, Ari Skolnik broke the record in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.06. Both Skolnik and Chris Slater would go on to become NCAA All-Americans in the 60-meter hurdles and weight throw. In the outdoor season, the men’s would notch second-place with a score of 137.5 points, while the women’s placed fourth with a total of 77 points. Oprondek would help coach two jumpers into All-NCAC slots, as Jack Blais was second in long jump while Tyler Miller grabbed third in the high jump. During the 2023-24 academic year, Oprondek helped several Denison University athletes to success. One of those athletes was Jacob Brown, who captured the Decathlon title at the NCAC Outdoor Championships and participated in the NCAA Outdoor Championships. During the indoor season, Brown claimed the Heptathlon at the NCAC Championships. Brown competed and finished 18th in the event at the NCAA Championships. Brown earned All-Region and set school records in both events. Additionally, Oprondek helped coach Anaya Jolivette to the Long Jump Title at the NCAC Oudoor Championships. The DU men's team finished in third place at the NCAC outdoor championships and the women finished fourth at the event.  The Denison men's track & field team finished first overall at the 2023 North Coast Athletic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championship, bringing home the seventh conference title for outdoor track & field in program history but the first since 1991. Denison scored in all 21 events and finished with 162 points, 33 points in front of second-place Wabash College with 129 points. As a team, Denison earned five individual conference championships and 12 total All-NCAC performances throughout the conference championship meet while Coach Oprondek and the rest of the Big Red coaching staff were awarded the NCAC Men's Outdoor Track & Field Coaching Staff of the Year award. It was the second NCAC Coaching Staff of the Year award for the Big Red in 2023 after closing out the NCAC Indoor Track & Field Championship in second place. Oprondek helped coach junior Jacob Brown to NCAC Titles and All-Region honors in both the heptathlon (indoor track & field, school record 4,669 points) and the decathlon (outdoor track & field, 6,163 points). In additon, Oprondek saw sophomores Jack Blais (indoor track & field, long jump, 6.53 meters), Catelyn Gagnier (outdoor track & field, pole vault, 3.38 meters) and Tyler Miller (outdoor track & field, high jump, 1.96 meters) each win an NCAC Championship.  In 2021-22, Oprondek helped coach the Denison men's cross country team to a third-place finish in the NCAC, its best finish at the conference meet since 2008, while senior Keanan Ginell won the NCAC Individual Championship, was named NCAC Runner of the Year, made the All-Region team, and became the first Big Red men's cross country runner to compete at the NCAA Championships since 2011, where he ran a new personal record and finished 93rd in all of NCAA Division III. On the women's side, the Big Red placed seventh as a team while senior Emily Willson earned both first-team all-conference and all-region honors. On the track, Oprondek helped coach the Big Red men's track & field team to a fourth-place finish at the NCAC Indoor Track & Field Championship, followed by a second-place finish at the NCAC Outdoor Championship, the best finish at the outdoor championship for Denison since winning its sixth conference title in seven years in 1991. The 10 All-NCAC performances Denison collected between both days of the outdoor championship and the decathlon were the most by the Big Red in a single outdoor championship since also earning 10 all-conference honors in 1998. Additionally, the Big Red men also won the 2022 All-Ohio Outdoor Track & Field Championship meet for the first time in program history. On the women's side, Denison finished fifth at the NCAC Indoor Championship and was fourth in the outdoor championship. In 2019-20, Oprondek helped lead both track & field programs to seven combined All-NCAC finishes during the indoor season, including the third-straight all-conference performance for senior Ryan Fleming in the high jump. The Denison men's team also left the 2020 NCAC Indoor Championships with a third-place finish, their best since 2009. She also helped the men's cross country team garner three All-NCAC performances, including a first-team honor for Adam Cromwell who placed fourth overall at the 2019 NCAC Championships. During the 2018-19 season, the Big Red claimed 10 All-NCAC selections across the indoor and outdoor seasons, including indoor NCAC titles from James Dixie (long jump) and Ryan Fleming (high jump) and an conference championship from Esteban Sainz (javelin) during the outdoor season. Oprondek came to Denison from NCAA Division II Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri, where she was a graduate assistant for the Bulldogs’ track & field and cross country programs from 2016-18. During her time at Truman State, the men’s and women’s cross country teams set program-best finishes at the Great Lakes Valley Conference Cross Country Championships in 2017, with the women placing fourth out of 12 teams and the men finishing fifth overall. Across both sports, Oprondek coached the Bulldogs to nine GLVC All-Conference honors and four USTFCCCA All-Academic teams during the 2016-17 seasons (men’s and women’s cross country and track & field). Before her time at Truman State, Oprondek was three-year captain for the women’s track & field team at Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois. As a member of the Eagles track & field team, Oprondek was a three-time All-Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference selection in javelin (Outdoor – 2016) and pole vault (Outdoor – 2015; Indoor – 2014) while also earning All-NACC honorable mention recognition on four different occasions in her career (Outdoor – 2013, 2016; Indoor – 2014, 2016). A native of Fairbury, Illinois, Oprondek received her bachelor’s degree in Exercise and Sport Studies from Benedictine University in May 2016 before earning her master’s in leadership from Truman State in the spring of 2018. 

Thompson begins his second season as an assistant mens and womens cross country coach at Denison in 2016. Thompson graduated from Otterbein University in 2014.  While at Otterbein, he ran cross country and was named captain of the track and field team as a graduate student.  Thompson helped his team finish fourth at the OAC Championship and 14th at the NCAA Regional meet. Thompson graduated from Otterbein with bachelors degrees in Accounting and Finance. He is currently pursuing a masters degree in Business Administration at his alma mater. Thompson is currently employed as an accountant at Worthington Cylinders in Worthington, Ohio. A native of Hilliard, Ohio, Denton currently resides in Columbus.