Nebraska Wesleyan University Women's Track

McKenzie begins her second season as an assistant coach for the Prairie Wolves cross country program.  She also is an assistant for the NWU track & field program.   McKenzie, a 2010 NWU graduate, joined the staff after coaching stints at two other institutions.  She spent two years as a graduate assistant coach at South Dakota State University where she earned a Masters degree in exercise science.  During the 2013-14 season, McKenzie served as an assistant coach at the University of Nebraska.   As a NWU student-athlete, she was a two-time All-American in cross country.  Her fifth place finish in 2008 at the NCAA III Cross Country Championships is the highest finish for a NWU female runner.  She was also an All-American in track in the 5,000 meters.  She won seven individual GPAC Championships and holds four school records.  In 2010, the Lincoln Journal Star named her the State College Athlete of the Year.  Later that year, Jackie was one of 29 women in the nation to receive an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.   In addition to her coaching duties, McKenzie will have academic responsibilities in the Health & Human Performance department focusing on exercise science.   She is married to Derrick McKenzie, a 2012 NWU graduate and former member of the track & field program who is an assistant for the Prairie Wolves track team.  

Kurt Nielsen has been part of the Nebraska Wesleyan coaching staff since the year 2003 as the horizontal jumps coach. During his first year with the Prairie Wolves, he coached triple jumper Lee Seberger to an NCAA indoor national title. Since then, Nielsen has coached 25 All-American performances and has been named the NCAA Regional assistant coach of the year three times.                       Nielsen received a physical education degree from NWU in 1975 and had a stellar track and field career. As an athlete at Nebraska Wesleyan, Nielsen was a 10-time Conference Champion, winning eight high jump titles and two long jump titles. He still holds the both the indoor and outdoor school records in the high jump. His high jump of 7-2 3/4 in 1973 was the third best in any collegiate division that year and remains the conference outdoor meet record. For his efforts, the Lincoln Journal Star and Omaha World-Herald named Nielsen State College Athlete of the Year. Then, in 1974, he won the NCAA Division III crown in the high jump.             Nielsen served three years as an assistant track and field coach at Gering High School before returning to Lincoln. He then served 10 years as an assistant and 14 years as the head track and field coach at Lincoln Northeast High School.             He is now retired from teaching. He and his wife, Becky, have two sons, Justin and Jared.  

The longest tenured coach on staff, Scott Etherton has been an assistant coach at Nebraska Wesleyan since 1987, working primarily with the hurdlers.  Known has one of the best hurdle coaches in the country, Etherton’s athletes in the hurdles and horizontal jumps have claimed six NCAA national titles and 102 All-American honors. In 2003, he was recognized as a winner of the AFLAC National Assistant Coach of the Year Award.   The year of 2025 did not disappoint for the NWU hurdle group. The hurdle group added another NCAA All-American and conference champion. Noah Smith gained first team All-American honors in the 60H placing 7that the national meet. His time of 8.04 is the 2nd fastest in school history.    Etherton was able to have 7 athletes land on the NWU all-time top 10 hurdle charts in 2025. At the conference level, he coached 12 performances that placed in the top 8 at the A-R-C conference championships including Smith’s conference title in the 60H. A 1987 graduate of Nebraska Wesleyan, Etherton is one of the most decorated track athletes in school history, winning 10 All-America awards during his career at NWU. He won national titles in the 60-yard high hurdles at the 1986 NAIA Indoor Championships and in the 110-meter high hurdles at the 1987 NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships.             In addition to coaching, Etherton is the Director of the Mental Health Crisis Center. He is married to Kassie and has three children, Olivia, Eli (a member of the NWU track team) and Alec.  

Frese is in his sixth season at Nebraska Wesleyan as a throws coach. Frese has been named the Central Region Field Assistant Coach of the Year for three track & field seasons. He earned the honor during the 2010 outdoor season then during both the 2011 indoor and outdoor seasons. Last year, Frese had three athletes for five events at the NCAA Championships winning two more All-American honors.  Now under his guidance, his women throwers hold three school records and have two of the top three marks in two other events. In 2012 Frese guided two athletes to the NCAA Championships in four events bringing home three more All-American awards. During the 2011 season Frese had three athletes earn six NCAA III All-American awards, including four women's All-American awards at the outdoor championships. He also coached both Amanda Brichacek and Elliott Bulling to school records in the weight throw and shot put, respectively. In 2010 he coached his first All-American and also had three athletes qualify for four events at the NCAA III Outdoor Championships. Frese came to NWU from Northwest Missouri State University where he served as a graduate assistant track & field coach for two seasons. He earned a master's degree in athletic administration from NWMSU in 2007. Frese earned a bachelor's degree in sports administration from University of Nebraska-Kearney in 2005. While at UNK he was a four-year member of the track team. Frese was a four-time NCAA II All-American in the throws and earned All-RMAC recognition in seven of the eight seasons he competed. He was also a team captain during the 2004 and 2005 seasons. Frese, a Bancroft, Neb., native lives with his wife Karla and two children in Lincoln.  He also serves as the Strength Coach at Nebraska Wesleyan.

Derrick McKenzie is entering his 3rd year as the Director of Cross Country / Track and Field at Nebraska Wesleyan. His second season at the helm in 2025 produced many national and conference accolades.   At the NCAA National level, his teams had 12 NCAA qualifying performances. This included 3 first team NCAA All-Americans, and an NCAA National Champion. Avery Decker capped off her storied career as she became the National Champion in the javelin throw. Indoors, both Emmilly Berglund and Noah Smith picked up their first career All-American honors. Berglund launched her way to 4th at the national meet in the shot put while Smith finished 7th in the national final in the 60H.   Additionally at the national meet, McKenzie’s athletes earned five 2nd team All-American honors. Eli Mackowski (HJ), Sam Clements (Shot), Kaelyn Means (Discus), Emmilly Berglund (Shot-outdoors), and Colin Wojtkiewicz (Hammer).   Throughout all three seasons of cross country, indoor, and outdoor, the Prairie Wolves accounted for 17 all A-R-C performances including 4 Conference Champions. Six times during the 2025 season his athletes earn A-R-C athlete of the week accolades. During the 2025 season, his athletes racked up 7 school records and 10 All Midwest Region Honors.   Off the track, Morgan Conner and Avery Decker won the programs 35th and 36th NCAA Post Graduate honor, which continues to lead the country. Decker also earned herself an Academic All-American honor which is the 55th in program history and currently ranks #8 nationally.    Since his time of leading the Prairie Wolf cross country / track and field program, McKenzie’s athletes have accounted for: 37 All-Conference performances, including 10 Conference Champions  8 NCAA first team All-American performances, including 2 National Runner Ups, and 1 National Champion 7 NCAA second team All-American Performances 29 All-Region Honorees 11 school records 4 NCAA Post Graduate recipients 2 Academic All-American award winners 2 A-R-C Scholar Athlete of the Year winners 1 NCAA Woman of the Year top 30 finalist 1 top 15 team finish at the NCAA Championship In his eight years as an assistant while coaching the sprinters and relays, coach McKenzie led the Prairie Wolf sprinters to 39 NCAA All-American honors including 10 NCAA National Titles. Within that time frame, his athletes accounted for 75 All-Conference honors with 22 of those being conference champions. Many of those athletes accounted for 134 all-time top 10 performances in school history and 34 different school record performances. In 2019, McKenzie was named the Central Region Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year.  McKenzie, a 2012 graduate of Nebraska Wesleyan, had spent three years as an assistant coach at Omaha North High School.  ONHS had four Top-Finishes finishes in both the Boys and Girls Track and Field State Championship.             As a track & field athlete for the Prairie Wolves, McKenzie was a four-year letterwinner at NWU. He was a seven-time All-GPAC performer in track & field and a two-time NCAA National Qualifier in the 400 hurdles.               A native of Fremont, Nebraska, McKenzie earned his master’s degree in higher education administration from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2020. McKenzie and his wife Jackie (‘11), are the parents of two sons, Christian (5) and Marcus (3).  

Bulling begins his 24th season as the Nebraska Wesleyan mens cross country coach and his 19th year as the head coach for the women in 2013. He also coaches the NWU track and field teams in his role as Director of Track & Field/Cross Country. Over the years, his teams have won a combined total of 64 conference team titles.   Bulling is currently serving as the President of the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Association (USTFCCCA), the first Division III coach to serve as the president of the association.   In cross country, Bulling has led the men to GPAC crowns in 11 of the last 14 seasons, while the NWU women have won or shared 10 of the last 13. Nebraska Wesleyans men qualified as a team for the NCAA Cross Country Championships 15 years in a row from 1997-2011, while the women have made it in 12 of the last 17 seasons. Bullings cross country coaching career includes Gary Wassermans individual national title at the NCAA Championships in 1992, as well as a third-place NCAA mens team finish in 2001 and fourth-place NCAA mens team finishes in both 2002 and 2005.   Last season, Bullings young squad battled injuries but still had a second place finish at the GPAC Championships for the women and a third place finish for the men.  At the NCAA Regional meet, Johnny Rutford placed 12th overall to earn a spot at the NCAA III Championships.   A six-time national coach of the year, Bulling has also helped Nebraska Wesleyans track and field program build a national reputation. The NWU mens track and field teams have placed in the top four nationally in seven of the last 15 NCAA meets, and the 2005 mens outdoor team finished No. 1 in the national power rankings.  In 2000, Bulling became the only coach in history to receive both the NAIA and NCAA Mens Indoor Track & Field Coach of the Year awards.   A 1980 Nebraska Wesleyan graduate with a bachelors degree in psychology, Bulling enjoyed an outstanding athletic career. He held the schools discus record for 10 years and was also a three-year starter on the football teams defensive line.   Bulling received his doctoral degree in educational psychology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1993. In addition to his coaching duties at NWU, Bulling is also an adjunct professor of education. Bulling and his wife, Denise, have two adult children, Emily and Elliott. Ted Bulling Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Dr. Ted Bulling begins his 24th season as the Nebraska Wesleyan mens cross country coach and his 19th year as the head coach for the women in 2013. He also coaches the NWU track and field teams in his role as Director of Track & Field/Cross Country. Over the years, his teams have won a combined total of 64 conference team titles.   Bulling is currently serving as the President of the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Association (USTFCCCA), the first Division III coach to serve as the president of the association.   In cross country, Bulling has led the men to GPAC crowns in 11 of the last 14 seasons, while the NWU women have won or shared 10 of the last 13. Nebraska Wesleyans men qualified as a team for the NCAA Cross Country Championships 15 years in a row from 1997-2011, while the women have made it in 12 of the last 17 seasons. Bullings cross country coaching career includes Gary Wassermans individual national title at the NCAA Championships in 1992, as well as a third-place NCAA mens team finish in 2001 and fourth-place NCAA mens team finishes in both 2002 and 2005.   Last season, Bullings young squad battled injuries but still had a second place finish at the GPAC Championships for the women and a third place finish for the men.  At the NCAA Regional meet, Johnny Rutford placed 12th overall to earn a spot at the NCAA III Championships.   A six-time national coach of the year, Bulling has also helped Nebraska Wesleyans track and field program build a national reputation. The NWU mens track and field teams have placed in the top four nationally in seven of the last 15 NCAA meets, and the 2005 mens outdoor team finished No. 1 in the national power rankings.  In 2000, Bulling became the only coach in history to receive both the NAIA and NCAA Mens Indoor Track & Field Coach of the Year awards.   A 1980 Nebraska Wesleyan graduate with a bachelors degree in psychology, Bulling enjoyed an outstanding athletic career. He held the schools discus record for 10 years and was also a three-year starter on the football teams defensive line.   Bulling received his doctoral degree in educational psychology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1993. In addition to his coaching duties at NWU, Bulling is also an adjunct professor of education. Bulling and his wife, Denise, have two adult children, Emily and Elliott.

Previously an All-American for the Prairie Wolves, Chris Baum has been an assistant coach for the track and field team at Nebraska Wesleyan since 1991 coaching the high jump and pole vault. After dominating the collegiate level as an athlete, Baum turned to coaching the Prairie Wolves. Baum has coached a total of 42 All-American awards and six national titles. He was also recognized as a winner of the AFLAC National Assistant Coach of the Year Award in 2004.  In the fall of 2011, Baum was inducted into the NWU Athletic Hall of Fame as he won the Spirit of the Plainsmen Award.  In 2025, Baum continued to help Eli Mackowski leave his mark at the national level. He finished the outdoor season as a 2nd team All-American which was his 3rd career All-American honor. Mackowski was also a 2 x Conference Champion in both the indoor and outdoor high jump. His jump of 2.10 outdoors was the 5th best jump in school history.   In the pole vault, Emily Druse vaulted to all-time top 10 performances in school history while notching two all-conference honors in the pole vault. Her vault of 3.50 indoors was the 2nd best in school history. With the men and women combined, Baum had 9 performances in the pole vault that scored at the A-R-C conference championship.  A three-time Conference Champion and All-American himself, Baum is a 1991 graduate of Nebraska Wesleyan with a bachelor’s degree in physical education and health (K-12). He has earned his master’s degree in education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he studied post-secondary athletic administration.             Baum also currently works as a physical education instructor at Humann Elementary School. He and his wife, Stephanie, have two children Jacob and Avery.