Southern Connecticut State University Men's Track

Wallin is in his seventh year as head mens cross country/track and field coach at Southern Connecticut State University in 2016-17. Since taking over as head coach at his alma mater, Wallin engineered continued excellence in all three seasons, as all three programs have been nationally ranked since he took the reins.   The mens track and field program has captured four New England Track and Field Championships (three outdoor, one indoors) under Wallins watch, including three consecutive titles (two outdoor, one indoor) during a stretch from 2013-14.   The Owls have totaled 58 All-American selections over Wallins first six years as head coach, along with a two-time NCAA National Champion in Nick Lebron (2012 and 2014 heptathlon champ).   Wallins student-athletes have also made a mark on the academic front. The Owls had two CoSIDA Academic All-Americans in 2011-12 and 2013-14, and again with Dean Bhatt in 2015-16 - and 18 selections to the Northeast-10 Conference Mens Cross Country or Track and Field All-Academic Teams.  Most recently, the men's cross country team was recognized by the USTFCCCA with its Team Academic Award in 2015, while five student-athletes were also named to USTFCCCA All-Academic Teams in 2015-16. The 2015-16 season saw the Owls finish as the runner-up at both the Northeast-10 Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The Owls were also third at the New England Outdoor Championships and fourth at the New England Indoor Championships. The team had a total of four All-America selections, with 46 All-Region honorees as well. The Owls produced the USTFCCCA Regional Indoor Field Athlete of the Year, along with the NE-10 Indoor and Outdoor Field Athletes and Field Rookies of the Year. The 2014-15 season saw Wallin capture USTFCCCA Outdoor Coach of the Year honors during a run that saw SCSU win its 13th straight outdoor track and field championship. The Owls also finished as the runners-up at the all-division New England championship. Four All-America selections also highlighted the academic year. In 2013-14, SCSU claimed both the New England indoor and outdoor track and field championships along with the Northeast-10 Conference indoor and outdoor track and field titles. The Owls have now won 24 of the last 26 NE-10 titles, including 13 consecutive crowns outdoors. SCSU also amassed 65 All-Region selections during the year. The Owls 34 All-Region picks outdoors led all of Division II, while the 31 All-Region honorees indoors was the second-highest total in the nation. The 2013 cross country squad recorded a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Regional Championships and a fourth-place finish at the Northeast-10 Conference Championships.   The Owls won the New England outdoor title in 2013 along with the 2013 Northeast-10 Conference outdoor crown. Eleven student-athletes collected All-America honors during the course of the year, with Wallin also being named the Northeast-10 Conference Coach of the Year indoors and outdoors, and the Regional Coach of the Year outdoors. SCSU recorded a third-place finish at the 2012 NCAA Championships, the highest indoor placing in school history. The programs 13 All-America selections at the event were also a school record for a single NCAA Championship. Southern Connecticut totaled 14 All-America selections in 2011-12 and Nick Lebron captured the NCAA title in the heptathlon, the programs first individual national championship since 1998. Along with his two USTFCCCA Regional Coach of the Year honors in 2011-12, Wallin also swept the Northeast-10 Conference Coach of the Year awards during the indoor and outdoor seasons. The Owls 38 All-Region selections outdoors led all of Division II, while their 30 All-Region picks during the indoor season was the second-best total in the country. Southern Connecticut was ranked as high as No. 3 in the national rankings (indoors) during last years track campaigns. The Owls also finished as the runner-up at the 2012 New England Outdoor Championships and were third at the 2012 New England Indoor Championships. He also stepped in as the interim coach of the womens cross country and track and field program in 2011-12 and helped that squad excel. The team had 24 USTFCCCA All-Region selections outdoors and 19 selections during the indoor season. Wallin guided four NCAA championships qualifiers and helped the outdoor team complete a runner-up finish at the NE-10 Championships. The womens squad also had a pair of CoSIDA Academic All-District selections, as well as 11 honorees for the NE-10 Womens Track and Field All-Academic Teams and seven USTFCCCA All-Academic Team picks. In his inaugural season as head coach of the mens program, he helped guide the Owls to an outstanding campaign in 2010-11 which included the programs first-ever New England Outdoor Track and Field Championship and a ninth place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Wallin also coached 11 All-America selections in 2010-11 and was named USTFCCA Regional Coach of the Year both indoors and outdoors. Wallin spent the 2009-10 academic year as an assistant coach for the Owls and was named USTFCCCA Mens Regional Assistant Coach of the Year during the outdoor campaign. During the 2009-10 academic year at SCSU, he coached seven All-Americans, nine NCAA qualifiers, 24 All-New England selections, two New England champions and 19 Northeast-10 Conference champions. The Owls also won the 2010 Northeast-10 Conference mens indoor and outdoor track and field championships and the Metropolitan Outdoor Championships for the first time in program history. SCSU was also ranked as high as No. 11 nationally during the indoor season. Wallin has distinguished himself as one of the top coaches in the nation over the past 15 years, having coached nearly 200 All-Americans during stints at Dartmouth, Adams State College (Colo.) and SCSU. During his tenure at Adams State, Wallin coached seven individual national champions, one relay national champion and 104 All-Americans (45 men, 59 women). His student-athletes claimed 25 school records, eight indoor Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference meet records and 17 outdoor RMAC meet records. Prior to joining the Adams State staff, Wallin served as assistant mens and womens track and field coach at Dartmouth College (1999-2001). During his time with the Big Green, he guided student-athletes to five school records, nine Ivy League titles, one Division I NCAA All-America honor and three New England decathlon champions. Wallin also served as the recruiting coordinator for the Big Green and enjoyed a brief stint as assistant strength and conditioning coach at Dartmouth. As a student-athlete, Wallin served as a two-year team captain for Southern Connecticut. He earned All-America honors in the decathlon as a junior and senior, while also qualifying for the NCAA Championships as a sophomore. Wallin also took home conference champion honors in the 55 meter high hurdles as a senior, a campaign in which the Owls won their first indoor conference championship. Wallin holds a bachelors degree in human performance from Southern Connecticut State University and has completed graduate work towards a masters degree in human performance from Adams State. He currently lives in Hamden, Conn. with his wife, Reidun and their sons, Torsten, Soren and Tyr.

Van Gilder, the 2014, 2015 and 2016 USTFCCCA Regional Womens Assistant Coach of the Year both indoors and outdoors, is in his fifth year as an assistant coach with both the Southern Connecticut State University men's and women's cross country/track and field programs.   Over the course of the past four years, Van Gilder has helped both programs achieve considerable success. The mens program has claimed three New England Championships, along with four Northeast-10 Conference titles. The womens program finished as the 2015 New England and Northeast-10 Conference Outdoor Champions, as well as the runner-up at five Northeast-10 Championships, and also placed as the runner-up at the 2014 New England Outdoor Championships. Van Gilder also played a pivotal role in mentoring the 2015 NCAA champion women's indoor 4x400 relay unit. In addition, both the Owls womens cross country and track and field teams have been recognized with multiple All-Academic honors for their work in the classroom, while the womens cross country squad claimed consecutive Northeast-10 Conference Team Academic Excellence Awards. Van Gilder rejoined the Owls from the University of Hartford, where he spent two years with the Hawks mens and womens programs. First as an assistant and then as associate head coach, he was involved in all daily operational aspects including training, scheduling, recruiting, compliance and budget management. Both programs earned the NCAA APR Public Recognition Award during his time on the staff. From the athletic standpoint, the team had 11 individuals and five relay groups earn All-New England honors, including three New England champions. Prior to his time at Hartford, Van Gilder spent three years as an assistant coach at Springfield College. Selected as the Regional Assistant Mens Coach of the Year by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association in 2009, he mentored four NCAA National Champions, 25 All-Americans and a bevy of All-New England, All-ECAC and All-Conference selections. Van Gilder has also amassed additional experience in the strength and conditioning realm at the University of Massachusetts and Valdosta State University (Ga.), and as a track and field coach at both Enfield and Enrico Fermi (Conn.) High Schools. As a student-athlete at SCSU, Van Gilder was an All-New England and All-Conference selection in the 4x100 relay, as well as a IC4A qualifier. He holds a bachelors degree in liberal studies from SCSU and a M. Ed. in strength and conditioning from Springfield College. Van Gilder also completed graduate level coursework at Indiana University.

Named as the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Regional Assistant Coach of the Year eight times since 2009, Bill Sutherland is in his 28th season as the throwing coach with the Southern Connecticut State University track and field program in 2018-19. He has mentored numerous national champions, All-Americans, New England and NE10 Champions during his time guiding the Owls' throwers. A 1973 graduate of SCSU, Sutherland excelled in the discus throw and ranks in the Owls’ top 10 in the event. After graduation, Sutherland concentrated on the hammer throw and has thrown 224 feet, 9 inches. He competed in the 1984 U.S. Olympic Trials. Sutherland, who also coached at Yale, has worked with three throwers who earned three NCAA Division II National Championships at Southern - Chris Sagnella (javelin, 1992), Dan Bourque (35-pound weight, 1998, and hammer, 1998) and Destiney Coward (weight throw, 2018). Sutherland has also coached Olympic competitors, including 2004 U.S. hammer performer Anna Mahon. His duties at SCSU also include responsibilities for the weight training programs of the throwers and high jumpers. Sutherland resides in Orange, Conn. with his wife, Cathy.

Brian Nill is an assistant coach with the Southern Connecticut State University men's and women's cross country and track and field programs. Nill's primary responsibilities are with the men's and women's programs' distance runners, as well as coordination of recruiting efforts for all programs.  Since transitioning to coaching at his alma mater in 2015, Nill led the men's cross country team to its first Northeast 10 Conference Championship in program history in 2018. That team also placed 33rd at the 2018 NCAA National Championship. The Owls' program enters the 2024 season with back-to-back NE10 Championships (2022, 2023) and back-to-back NCAA Division II East Regional Championships (2022, 2023).  In addition, Nill has played a pivotal role in coaching one All-American, 40 NE10 All-Conference selections, including the 2018 NE10 Rookie of the Year, 31 All-New England picks and 35 All-East Region selections. He was also named the 2019 USTFCCCA East Region Men's Assistant Coach of the Year for the Indoor Track & Field season. Nill has also coached three Cross Country National Championship qualifiers, eight track & field provisional qualifiers, two NE10 Conference Champions,  As an athlete, Nill earned NCAA Division II All-American honors in the 800 Meters during the 2013 outdoor season. He earned All-Region, All-New England and All-NE10 honors in the 1500 meters and was also an All-Region pick in the 5000 meters.