Truman State University Men's Track

Schwegler enters his fourth season as Head Coach of the Bulldog Mens and Womens Track & Field and Cross Country Teams with the drive, enthusiasm and expertise to make Truman State a consistent Great Lakes Valley Conference contender. Schwegler has developed a well-founded reputation as a team-oriented coach who cares about individual athletes, both academically and athletically. Schwegler graduated from Truman in 1980 where he served as captain of the Bulldog Cross Country team and a member of the Track team. After graduation, he proceeded to work at Kirksville High School as the Cross Country coach and Boys Track & Field coach. He led the Tigers to three district titles, two North Central Missouri Conference championships and had three top ten state finishes. Following a four-year stint at KHS, Schwegler returned to Truman to complete his masters degree and served as a volunteer assistant for the Bulldog womens Track & Field/Cross Country squads. After completing his masters in 1986, Schwegler was named head coach at Highland Community College where he built a top-20 NJCAA Track and Field/Cross Country program. He coached 106 athletic all-Americans and 192 academic all-Americans during his tenure at Highland. The Scotties won eight Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference championships and were named the NJCAA Top Academic Team of the Year nine times. Schwegler was named the 1999 NJCAA Mens Track Coach of the Year and the 2004 NJCAA Region VI Womens Coach of the Year. Schwegler returned to the Truman and Kirksville community in 2006 to serve as an assistant coach for the Bulldogs. As an Assistant and Head Coach, he has helped produce 18 conference champions, six NCAA Div. II All-Americans, one National Champion, numerous USTFCCCA All-Academic scholars, and new school records in eleven different events. Originally from St. Louis, he also is an Instructor in the Exercise Science Department teaching courses in Health/Fitness and Nutrition. He has Level III coaching certification from USA Track & Field, Level I Lead Instructor in the USATF Coaching Education Program and a Strength and Conditioning Coach from the US Track & Field/Cross Country Coaches Association. Schwegler is the author and co-author of numerous articles in several research publications. He and his wife, Nancy (a Truman and Track Alum), are parents of two sons, Matt (a Truman Alum) and Sam.

Hardesty begins her tenth season of coaching the Bulldog throwers.  She began coaching at the University during the 2005-2006 season.  In the summer of 2013 she was also named co-head strength & conditioning coordinator at Truman. She has coached three student-athletes to All-America honors.   Rachel McCarroll finished sixth in the Weight Throw at the 2013 indoor championship meet, Bridgette Carpenter finished seventh in the Shot Put during the 2007 indoor championships and was sixth in the shot put during that seasons outdoor championship meet, and Ashley Colon finished third in the Weight Throw at the 2007 indoor meet. In total, six females and two males have participated in either the indoor or outdoor national meets under Hardesty.  The women have competed in both indoor events and all four outdoor events, while the men have competed in both the indoor and outdoor shot put. Hardesty has also coached seven conference event champions:  Rebecca Nelson (GLVC Javelin-2014 outdoor), Derek Atwood (MIAA Shot Put-2012 indoor), Rachel McCarroll (MIAA Weight Throw-2012 and 2013 indoors), Kortney Holeman (MIAA Discus-2009 outdoor), and Ashley Colon (MIAA Weight Throw-2006 and 2007 indoors). Two school records and one meet record have fallen while Hardesty has been in charge.  Both school indoor weight throw records are now owned by Rachel McCarroll (18.85m-in 2013), previously held by Ashley Colon (17.89m-in 2007) and Eric Ruzicka (16.33m-in 2008).  At the 2013 MIAA Indoor Championship meet, McCarroll set a new meet record in the weight throw (18.85m). Hardesty comes to Truman after serving three previous years as the head mens and womens track coach at Dakota Wesleyan University (S.D.). While at Dakota Wesleyan, she coached the men to school records in the weight throw and hammer throw and she coached the womens team to school records in the weight throw, javelin, hammer throw, 100m hurdles, triple jump and heptathlon.  Ten athletes on her squads were national qualifiers and she coached four all-conference throwers and two all-conference jumpers.  Her athletes also excelled off the track as she coached six NAIA scholar all-Americans. Prior to Dakota Wesleyan, she was an assistant coach for five years at North Marion High School in Farmington, W.Va. where she coached 17 state qualifiers, eight conference champions and one regional champion. Hardesty graduated from Seton Hall in 1996 with a bachelor of arts in communications. While at Seton Hall, she was a four-year member on the womens track and field team.  She earned all-conference honors in the weight throw, discus and hammer throw and was the 1996 Seton Hall female track and field athlete of the year.  She set school records in the indoor and outdoor shot put, the weight throw and the hammer throw.  Hardesty was a member of the 1993 indoor and 1994 outdoor Big East championship teams. Hardesty also received a bachelor of science in physical education from Fairmont State University in 1999 and completed continuing education courses in sports psychology at Cal State, Hayward during the 2002 Olympics.  She received her masters of arts in education from Dakota Wesleyan in 2005.