Grand Valley State University Men's Track

Baltes is in his 18th year at the helm of both the men's and women's cross country and track and field teams at Grand Valley State. During that time, Baltes has been able to build six championship programs as the Lakers have won 79 out of 96 cross country, indoor, and outdoor track and field GLIAC championships. Overall, Baltes has won 62 GLIAC Coach of the Year titles and has groomed 199 All-American athletes (80 men, 119 women) to a combined total of 441 All-American honors. Baltes has received the Great Lakes/Midwest Regional Coach of the Year Award 14 times each in cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field for a total of 38. The women's cross country, track and field teams at Grand Valley State have won all three (cross country, indoor track, outdoor track) conference championships in each of the last 12 seasons, while the men won all three for a streak of five seasons (2003-07). Baltes has led the men's and women's indoor and outdoor track teams to 61 top-20 finishes at the NCAA National Championships. The men's indoor track and field team placed 13th in 2000, 15th in 2001, 12th in 2002, 18th in 2005, 10th in 2006, eighth in 2007, fourth in 2008, 12th in 2009, 20th in 2011 and fourth in 2013. The women's team finished 14th in 1999, ninth in 2002, seventh in 2003, 16th in 2005, fifth in 2006, third in 2007, sixth in 2008, second in 2009, second in 2010, first in 2011, first in 2012 and fourth in 2013. The men's outdoor track and field team finished in 13th place in 2006, eighth in 2007, sixth in 2008, 12th in 2009, and 16th in 2011. The women's team placed 11th in 2002, 18th in 2005, fourth in 2006, fifth in 2007, eighth in 2008, fourth in 2009, third in 2010, first in 2011, first in 2012 and third in 2013. The Laker cross country teams have experienced a great deal of success on the national level. Baltes wasted no time in making a name for the women's program as they finished fifth in the nation in 1999 and have finished in the top five every year since them. The women's team has finished in the top three spots in the last six seasons, including second-place finishes in both 2005 and 2008 with national championships in 2010 and 2012. The men's team has also had success at the national level, making the national stage for the first time in 2002 and finishing ninth. The Lakers finished in third place in 2010, the program's best ever finish. The 2010-11 year was a banner season for both Baltes and the GVSU program as he guided the women's teams to all three national championships. The cross country, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field teams all finished at the top, making GVSU the first women's program in NCAAhistory to win all three titles in one year. Baltes has guided 32 individuals and three relay teams to NCAA National Championships in his tenure at Grand Valley State. Jason Van Elst became Grand Valley's first-ever individual National Champion as he won the 35# weight throw (65'-9.5") in 2002 in Boston, Mass. Mandi (Long) Zemba became the school's first-ever female athlete to win an individual national championship. She is an eight-time NCAA National Champion and won her first title as a true freshman in the 1500 meter with a time of 4:28.53. In 2005, Zemba won the individual National Championship in cross country as she covered the 6,000 meter course in Pomona, Calif. in a time of 21:01.7. She went on to capture the 3,000 and 5,000 meter runs at the 2006 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships in Emporia, Kan. Her time of 15:48.62 at the Stanford Cardinal Invitational qualified her for the USA Track and Field National Championships in Indianapolis where she finished 16th. Zemba rewrote the distance record books in 2006 by breaking six GVSU school records. Steph Kuhlman claimed the National Championship title in the 800m in 2003 in Edwardsville, Ill. with a winning time of 2:05.34. She set the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship record of 2:05.75 in 2003 in the prelims. Kuhlman also qualified and competed in the 2003 USA Track and Field Championships in Stanford. Other student-athletes who have competed at the USA Track and Field Championships since Baltes has been at GVSU include Sam Lockhart, Betsy Graney and Rachel Patterson. In the years since, Baltes has been at the helm of student-athletes from nearly every discipline winning national titles. Originally from Rolling Prairie, Ind., Baltes was a four-time letter winner and captain of the cross country/track and field teams at Butler University. Graduating from Butler in 1998, Baltes received a Bachelor of Science degree in secondary education-physical education. Baltes was the assistant men's and women's track and field/cross country coach for two years at Butler. His area of focus was with the distance athletes in cross country and the jumpers in track. He played a major role in building a cross country program that qualified for the National Championships. In 1998, he assisted in leading the Butler Bulldogs to 16th place at the NCAA Championships. Baltes also guided Butler's first track athlete to the 1998 National Championships in the 3,000, 5,000, and 10,000 meters, since 1971. Certified by the NCAA to recruit, and in charge of the Midwestern region, Baltes brought in the largest recruiting class ever in Butler cross country history. Having experience in organizing events, scheduling, and keeping his players motivated, Baltes' management skills have played a large role in his success. He assisted in all aspects of team travel, organized team events and activities, coordinated equipment orders with Adidas, and kept contact with alumni.   Jerry Baltes Head Coach                  Jerry Baltes is in his 18th year at the helm of both the men's and women's cross country and track and field teams at Grand Valley State. During that time, Baltes has been able to build six championship programs as the Lakers have won 79 out of 96 cross country, indoor, and outdoor track and field GLIAC championships. Overall, Baltes has won 62 GLIAC Coach of the Year titles and has groomed 199 All-American athletes (80 men, 119 women) to a combined total of 441 All-American honors. Baltes has received the Great Lakes/Midwest Regional Coach of the Year Award 14 times each in cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field for a total of 38. The women's cross country, track and field teams at Grand Valley State have won all three (cross country, indoor track, outdoor track) conference championships in each of the last 12 seasons, while the men won all three for a streak of five seasons (2003-07). Baltes has led the men's and women's indoor and outdoor track teams to 61 top-20 finishes at the NCAA National Championships. The men's indoor track and field team placed 13th in 2000, 15th in 2001, 12th in 2002, 18th in 2005, 10th in 2006, eighth in 2007, fourth in 2008, 12th in 2009, 20th in 2011 and fourth in 2013. The women's team finished 14th in 1999, ninth in 2002, seventh in 2003, 16th in 2005, fifth in 2006, third in 2007, sixth in 2008, second in 2009, second in 2010, first in 2011, first in 2012 and fourth in 2013. The men's outdoor track and field team finished in 13th place in 2006, eighth in 2007, sixth in 2008, 12th in 2009, and 16th in 2011. The women's team placed 11th in 2002, 18th in 2005, fourth in 2006, fifth in 2007, eighth in 2008, fourth in 2009, third in 2010, first in 2011, first in 2012 and third in 2013. The Laker cross country teams have experienced a great deal of success on the national level. Baltes wasted no time in making a name for the women's program as they finished fifth in the nation in 1999 and have finished in the top five every year since them. The women's team has finished in the top three spots in the last six seasons, including second-place finishes in both 2005 and 2008 with national championships in 2010 and 2012. The men's team has also had success at the national level, making the national stage for the first time in 2002 and finishing ninth. The Lakers finished in third place in 2010, the program's best ever finish. The 2010-11 year was a banner season for both Baltes and the GVSU program as he guided the women's teams to all three national championships. The cross country, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field teams all finished at the top, making GVSU the first women's program in NCAAhistory to win all three titles in one year. Baltes has guided 32 individuals and three relay teams to NCAA National Championships in his tenure at Grand Valley State. Jason Van Elst became Grand Valley's first-ever individual National Champion as he won the 35# weight throw (65'-9.5") in 2002 in Boston, Mass. Mandi (Long) Zemba became the school's first-ever female athlete to win an individual national championship. She is an eight-time NCAA National Champion and won her first title as a true freshman in the 1500 meter with a time of 4:28.53. In 2005, Zemba won the individual National Championship in cross country as she covered the 6,000 meter course in Pomona, Calif. in a time of 21:01.7. She went on to capture the 3,000 and 5,000 meter runs at the 2006 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships in Emporia, Kan. Her time of 15:48.62 at the Stanford Cardinal Invitational qualified her for the USA Track and Field National Championships in Indianapolis where she finished 16th. Zemba rewrote the distance record books in 2006 by breaking six GVSU school records. Steph Kuhlman claimed the National Championship title in the 800m in 2003 in Edwardsville, Ill. with a winning time of 2:05.34. She set the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship record of 2:05.75 in 2003 in the prelims. Kuhlman also qualified and competed in the 2003 USA Track and Field Championships in Stanford. Other student-athletes who have competed at the USA Track and Field Championships since Baltes has been at GVSU include Sam Lockhart, Betsy Graney and Rachel Patterson. In the years since, Baltes has been at the helm of student-athletes from nearly every discipline winning national titles. Originally from Rolling Prairie, Ind., Baltes was a four-time letter winner and captain of the cross country/track and field teams at Butler University. Graduating from Butler in 1998, Baltes received a Bachelor of Science degree in secondary education-physical education. Baltes was the assistant men's and women's track and field/cross country coach for two years at Butler. His area of focus was with the distance athletes in cross country and the jumpers in track. He played a major role in building a cross country program that qualified for the National Championships. In 1998, he assisted in leading the Butler Bulldogs to 16th place at the NCAA Championships. Baltes also guided Butler's first track athlete to the 1998 National Championships in the 3,000, 5,000, and 10,000 meters, since 1971. Certified by the NCAA to recruit, and in charge of the Midwestern region, Baltes brought in the largest recruiting class ever in Butler cross country history. Having experience in organizing events, scheduling, and keeping his players motivated, Baltes' management skills have played a large role in his success. He assisted in all aspects of team travel, organized team events and activities, coordinated equipment orders with Adidas, and kept contact with alumni.  

Andreadis is in his 11th season at Grand Valley as associate head coach for both men's and women's track and field. Andreadis' experience is a valuable resource to the Laker program and will also reunite Andreadis with head coach Jerry Baltes as they coached together at Butler University in Indiana. Lou's main responsibilities are to work with the Laker pole vaulters and handle all multi-event scheduling for the combined events. At Grand Valley State, Andreadis has developed a solid vault program which has seen 40 All-American honors and seven NCAA Division II National Champion pole vault performances in eleven years and set both men's and women's school records. His vaulters average a fifteen inch improvement over the last seven years. Three vaulters have seen over three feet added to their high school PR's. Under Lou's coaching, Bryant Wilson went from a 14'6" high school vaulter to clearing 18'0.5" (5.50m) in 2009 and competing at the USATF National Championship. The same year Dianna Noonan, a 12'0" high school vaulter, cleared 13'9.25" (4.20m) and also qualified for the USATF Championship. Andreadis was named the 2012 USTFCCCA Women's Assistant Coach of the Year after Kristen Hixson won both the indoor and outdoor pole vault national championship and Jocelyn Kuksa finished second (outdoor) and third (indoor) at the NCAA Division II National Championships. Andreadis has coached three pole vaulters to seven total NCAA Division II National Championship performances. Bryant Wilson won the indoor and outdoor event in both 2007 and 2008, while Kristen Hixson won both the indoor and outdoor events in 2012, and Jaime Roberts won the indoor event in 2016. Coach Lou has also put together one of the largest pole selections in the entire country. Over $50,000 has been spent in poles alone to fill out complete series of poles from 12'6-16'1. He also helped design the lay-out for the two raised runways used at GVSU's indoor facility. Andreadis graduated from Butler in 1996 with a degree in Secondary Education. Lou stayed at Butler and worked for four years as assistant coach for track and field and football as well as a part-time teacher at an Indianapolis grade school, IHM. In 2001 he was the head girls track and assistant football coach at his alma mater, Anderson High School in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Denard is in his third season at Grand Valley State University as an Assistant Track and Field Coach in charge of the Throwing Events in 2016 Denard has assisted athletes to 26 NCAA All-Americans including the 2016 NCAA Champion in the Mens Hammer, the 2015 NCAA Runner-Up in the Womens Hammer and the 2015 NCAA Runner-Up in the Mens Weight Throw. Athletes have set 4 Conference Records, Won 14 Conference Championships and earned 97 All-Conference Awards. 52 times throwers have earned academic All-Conference awards including 3 times winning the Commissioners or Academic Athlete of the Year awards. 8 times his athletes have won Academic All-American status as well. In 2016 Darien Thornton won the NCAA Title in the Mens Hammer, surpassing the meet record by over 2 feet. He would earn the GLIAC Title, GLIAC Indoor Field Athlete of the Year and Midwest Region Field Athlete of the Year honors for both the outdoor and indoor seasons while qualifying for the 2016 Olympic Trials. Additionally, Mariah Mansperger would earn GLIAC Freshmen Athlete of the Year for her performances at the conference Championships while Dajsha Avery moved up 10 spots in both the shot put and discus to earn her first and second career All-American Awards in the shot put and discus throws at the NCAA Championships. In 2015 Thornton placed second at the NCAA Championships in the mens 35lb weight throw, helping the mens squad to their highest finish ever as team National Runner-Ups. Outdoors, Laura Schroeder won the GLIAC title in the womens hammer and would go on to place second at the NCAA Championships, helping the women to their 6th NCAA Program of the Year Award in the 7th year of its existence. From the summer of 2012 until the fall of 2014, while at North Central College, Denard earned his masters degree in higher education leadership and started the Athlete Mentor Program where 250 first year athletes were mentored by 50 trained upperclassmen athletes across all sports and genders. Denard was also in charge of summer camps and grew his throwing attendance from 3 participants in the summer of 2012 to nearly 100 in the summer of 2014. In addition to his collegiate coaching experience Denard served as Coach for 2012 Shot Put Olympian and 2014 Common Wealth Games finalist, Justin Rodhe and 2014 USA Shot Put finalist Nick Baatz. Denard also has presented at several clinics on coaching the Throws, including GVSUs annual BIG Throws Clinic. Denard is a 2012 graduate of Mount Union College where he was an All-American in the discus, won 5 OAC Championships in the shot put and discus and was named Most Outstanding Athlete of the 2010 OAC Championships. He still owns the school record in the discus. Denard comes from Naperville, Illinois and competed in football and track in high school, winning a state championship his senior year in football and competing in both shot put and discus at the state championships.   Sean Denard Assistant Coach - Throws                  Sean Denard is in his third season at Grand Valley State University as an Assistant Track and Field Coach in charge of the Throwing Events in 2016 Denard has assisted athletes to 26 NCAA All-Americans including the 2016 NCAA Champion in the Mens Hammer, the 2015 NCAA Runner-Up in the Womens Hammer and the 2015 NCAA Runner-Up in the Mens Weight Throw. Athletes have set 4 Conference Records, Won 14 Conference Championships and earned 97 All-Conference Awards. 52 times throwers have earned academic All-Conference awards including 3 times winning the Commissioners or Academic Athlete of the Year awards. 8 times his athletes have won Academic All-American status as well. In 2016 Darien Thornton won the NCAA Title in the Mens Hammer, surpassing the meet record by over 2 feet. He would earn the GLIAC Title, GLIAC Indoor Field Athlete of the Year and Midwest Region Field Athlete of the Year honors for both the outdoor and indoor seasons while qualifying for the 2016 Olympic Trials. Additionally, Mariah Mansperger would earn GLIAC Freshmen Athlete of the Year for her performances at the conference Championships while Dajsha Avery moved up 10 spots in both the shot put and discus to earn her first and second career All-American Awards in the shot put and discus throws at the NCAA Championships. In 2015 Thornton placed second at the NCAA Championships in the mens 35lb weight throw, helping the mens squad to their highest finish ever as team National Runner-Ups. Outdoors, Laura Schroeder won the GLIAC title in the womens hammer and would go on to place second at the NCAA Championships, helping the women to their 6th NCAA Program of the Year Award in the 7th year of its existence. From the summer of 2012 until the fall of 2014, while at North Central College, Denard earned his masters degree in higher education leadership and started the Athlete Mentor Program where 250 first year athletes were mentored by 50 trained upperclassmen athletes across all sports and genders. Denard was also in charge of summer camps and grew his throwing attendance from 3 participants in the summer of 2012 to nearly 100 in the summer of 2014. In addition to his collegiate coaching experience Denard served as Coach for 2012 Shot Put Olympian and 2014 Common Wealth Games finalist, Justin Rodhe and 2014 USA Shot Put finalist Nick Baatz. Denard also has presented at several clinics on coaching the Throws, including GVSUs annual BIG Throws Clinic. Denard is a 2012 graduate of Mount Union College where he was an All-American in the discus, won 5 OAC Championships in the shot put and discus and was named Most Outstanding Athlete of the 2010 OAC Championships. He still owns the school record in the discus. Denard comes from Naperville, Illinois and competed in football and track in high school, winning a state championship his senior year in football and competing in both shot put and discus at the state championships.  

Watson is in his third season at Grand Valley State as an Assistant Track & Field and Assistant Cross Country Coach in charge of Distance Events. Comes to Grand Valley State after one year as the Assistant Coach of Cross Country/Track & Field at Temple University, where he organized all aspects of the student-athlete development, including the creation of training plans, supervision of workouts, . Watson also helped five Temple runners set school records for both the mens and womens cross country and track & field teams.   Prior to coaching for Temple, Watson was a volunteer assistant coach for the Grand Valley State cross country and track & field programs from 2010-2013. As a volunteer assistant, Watson was in charge of supervising practices and team travel to competitions, administered and recorded workouts, and created programs for athletes returning from injury. In addition, Watson assisted with on-campus recruiting and worked in all areas of event management.   Watson graduated from Grand Valley State in 2012 with a degree in Sports Management.   Watson is a USA Track & Field Level Certified coach.  

Jones is in his seventh year as the jumps coach at Grand Valley State University. Before GVSU, he spent three seasons at Minnesota State University-Mankato where he worked with jumpers, multi-event athletes, throwers, and sprinters. While at MSU, Jones' athletes set several school records in addition to winning eight All-American accolades. Jones assisted in coaching the 2007 USATF US National High Jump Champion Jim Dilling (2.30m), who also won four Division II National high jump competitions. In his time at GVSU, Jones has tutored nine NCAA Division II All-Americans and has had 34 student-athletes qualify for the NCAA Division II Championships in both indoor and outdoor competition. Three school records have also been set with Jones as the coach. At Minnesota State, Jones coached two NCAA Division II champions, seven All-Americans and 13 NCAA qualifiers. At Minnesota State University, Jones' other duties included teaching in the human performance department, meet administration, monitoring the academic success of student-athletes, as well as assisting in hosting the 2008 NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships. In his time there, Jones also received his masters degree in sport administration. Jones graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2003 with a degree in consumer science. A two-time captain and NCAA Division I national participant in the high jump, Jones worked for Athletes in Action upon his graduation. Part of his time was spent in Spain where he volunteer coached for two track teams and participated in mission work. When stateside, Jones coached high school track in Wisconsin working with the jumpers, sprinters, and vaulters.   Steve Jones Assistant Coach - Jumps                  Assistant coach Steve Jones is in his seventh year as the jumps coach at Grand Valley State University. Before GVSU, he spent three seasons at Minnesota State University-Mankato where he worked with jumpers, multi-event athletes, throwers, and sprinters. While at MSU, Jones' athletes set several school records in addition to winning eight All-American accolades. Jones assisted in coaching the 2007 USATF US National High Jump Champion Jim Dilling (2.30m), who also won four Division II National high jump competitions. In his time at GVSU, Jones has tutored nine NCAA Division II All-Americans and has had 34 student-athletes qualify for the NCAA Division II Championships in both indoor and outdoor competition. Three school records have also been set with Jones as the coach. At Minnesota State, Jones coached two NCAA Division II champions, seven All-Americans and 13 NCAA qualifiers. At Minnesota State University, Jones' other duties included teaching in the human performance department, meet administration, monitoring the academic success of student-athletes, as well as assisting in hosting the 2008 NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships. In his time there, Jones also received his masters degree in sport administration. Jones graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2003 with a degree in consumer science. A two-time captain and NCAA Division I national participant in the high jump, Jones worked for Athletes in Action upon his graduation. Part of his time was spent in Spain where he volunteer coached for two track teams and participated in mission work. When stateside, Jones coached high school track in Wisconsin working with the jumpers, sprinters, and vaulters.  

Dunson is in his second year at Grand Valley State University as Assistant Track and Field Coach in charge of Sprints and Hurdles. This past year his athletes garnished 17 All-American honors, broke 6 School Records, 3 GLIAC Conference Records, and were represented by 11 entries at the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championships.  He guided Angela Ritter, a now three-time School record holder, to multiple All-American finishes in the 200m dash (9th at 24.11), 400m dash (5th at 53.65), and the 4x400m relay (7th at 3:42.83).  In 2015, during his time with the Ashland University Eagles, he coached athletes to 4 All-American honors during the Indoor season and 2 All-American honors during the Outdoor season. Dunson also guided two sprinters to three GLIAC championships and two Conference Records, including Irene Skinner to the GLIAC Indoor Championships Freshman of the Year and the conference record in the 400 meters.  He also guided twelve-time All-American Eliha Owens to two NCAA Runner-Up finishes in the 60 meter hurdles and the 400 meter hurdles, as well as an appearance at the USA Outdoor National Championships in Eugene, Oregon.   The new Laker coach was also a two-sport athlete at Ashland, receiving eight combined varsity letters for track & field and football. For track & field, Dunson was a two-time conference champion in the 110 meter hurdles and as a member of the 4x400 meter relay team. He was also a seven-time All-GLIAC selection, a two-time NCAA National Championship qualifier, the 2008 GLIAC Outdoor Mens Freshman of the Meet, and holds the Ashland mens outdoor freshman record for the 110m hurdles. Dunson was a key member of three GLIAC outdoor track & field championships, denying GVSU from claiming victory each time. Dunson earned both his Bachelor and Masters degrees from Ashland University. He graduated from Ashland in 2011 with a Bachelor of Science in Education with a degree in Integrated Mathematics, and is in the process of obtaining Masters of Education with a degree in Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century. Prior to coaching at Ashland, Dunson was the head track & field coach at Bluffton High School in Hilton Head, South Carolina for four years from 2011 to 2014. While at Bluffton, he coached two individual state champions and a third-place finisher.   Alan Dunson Assistant Coach - Sprints and Hurdles                  Alan Dunson is in his second year at Grand Valley State University as Assistant Track and Field Coach in charge of Sprints and Hurdles. This past year his athletes garnished 17 All-American honors, broke 6 School Records, 3 GLIAC Conference Records, and were represented by 11 entries at the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championships.  He guided Angela Ritter, a now three-time School record holder, to multiple All-American finishes in the 200m dash (9th at 24.11), 400m dash (5th at 53.65), and the 4x400m relay (7th at 3:42.83).  In 2015, during his time with the Ashland University Eagles, he coached athletes to 4 All-American honors during the Indoor season and 2 All-American honors during the Outdoor season. Dunson also guided two sprinters to three GLIAC championships and two Conference Records, including Irene Skinner to the GLIAC Indoor Championships Freshman of the Year and the conference record in the 400 meters.  He also guided twelve-time All-American Eliha Owens to two NCAA Runner-Up finishes in the 60 meter hurdles and the 400 meter hurdles, as well as an appearance at the USA Outdoor National Championships in Eugene, Oregon.   The new Laker coach was also a two-sport athlete at Ashland, receiving eight combined varsity letters for track & field and football. For track & field, Dunson was a two-time conference champion in the 110 meter hurdles and as a member of the 4x400 meter relay team. He was also a seven-time All-GLIAC selection, a two-time NCAA National Championship qualifier, the 2008 GLIAC Outdoor Mens Freshman of the Meet, and holds the Ashland mens outdoor freshman record for the 110m hurdles. Dunson was a key member of three GLIAC outdoor track & field championships, denying GVSU from claiming victory each time. Dunson earned both his Bachelor and Masters degrees from Ashland University. He graduated from Ashland in 2011 with a Bachelor of Science in Education with a degree in Integrated Mathematics, and is in the process of obtaining Masters of Education with a degree in Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century. Prior to coaching at Ashland, Dunson was the head track & field coach at Bluffton High School in Hilton Head, South Carolina for four years from 2011 to 2014. While at Bluffton, he coached two individual state champions and a third-place finisher.  

Matt Conly begins his sixth season at Grand Valley as an assistant coach for throwing entering the 2025-26 academic year. During the 2024-25 seasons, Conly coached 10 athletes to the NCAA DII Indoor and Outdoor Championships. His throws crew claimed two individual national championship titles and 13 All-American honors. Myles Kerner added another title to his résumé in indoor shot put. Erika Beistle earned her fourth national title with a meet record-breaking discus mark at the NCAA DII Outdoor Championships. Margaret Stevenson and Shelby Ulven both earned National Runner-Up honors during the outdoor season in discus and shot put, respectively. In the 2023-24 season, Conly's throws crew claimed five individual national championship titles led by Erika Beistle, who claimed three. Beistle earned her first title in the women's shot put at the NCAA Division II Indoor National Championships, then claimed two titles in the women's shot put and discus during the outdoor season. Myles Kerner swept men's shot put, claiming both indoor and outdoor national titles.  Kerner and Besitle both qualified for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Eugene, Oregon under Conly's training.  In his time at Grand Valley State, Conly has coached five athletes to 14 individual national championship titles; Judith Essemiah (4), Erika Beistle (4), Myles Kerner (4), Jacob Urban (1), and Bobbie Goodwin (1).  Conly has received six Midwest Region Assistant Coach of the Year honors, five Women's Assistant Coach of the Year and one Men's Assistant Coach of the Year. In 2023, Conly claimed both the Men's and Women's Assistant Coach of the Year in the outdoor season.  Additionally, four of Conly's athletes are the current Grand Valley State school record holders. Myles Kerner in the men's indoor and outdoor shot put, Erika Beistle in the women's outdoor shot put and discus, Judith Essemiah in the women's weight throw and Bobby Maxwell in the men's javelin. Conly has guided 56 student-athletes to All-American honors. Conly joins the Lakers coaching staff from California State University Northridge where he coached two NCAA qualifiers and one All-American.  Additionally, Conly helped five throwers set school records and four earn Big West Conference Championships, including one Big West Conference record.   Prior to Cal State Northridge, Conly spent two seasons at the University of Minnesota where he coached one NCAA outdoor qualifier, two indoor qualifiers and a fourth place finisher at the USATF Junior Championships.   Conly has also held coaching stints at Bowling Green State and West Virginia as the women's assistant coach for throwing.   A Ball State graduate and member of the track and field team, Conly is fifth all-time on the Ball State record list for his performances in the javelin throw.  He is also a two-time letter winner and the Ball State freshman record holder.