University of North Carolina at Pembroke Women's Track

Strickland enters his fifth season as an assistant coach with the UNCP track and field teams for the 2015-16 academic year. Strickland began assisting the Braves after his experience as a volunteer coach for the Junior Olympics USATF Carolina Eagles Track Club from 2007 to 2009, while attaining his bachelor degree. In 2015, he was named USTFCCCA Regional Male Assistant Coach Of The Year as he guided his athletes to 73 points at the Peach Belt Conference Championships more than half of the team's third-place 136.5 total points. He coached Shaquille Ray to a provisional qualifying time in the 100m and 200m dashes, while also coaching Kory Jones to a provisional qualifying mark in the high jump.  He coached Michael Powell to PBC Freshman Track Athlete of the Year honors, Ray to a 100m dash title and a runner-up effort at 200m dash along with a second-place finish in the long jump for Jones at the PBC Championships. Ray nabbed three PBC Track Athlete of the Week honors, while Jones captured a pair of PBC Field Athlete of the Week laurels. The sprinters, jumpers and hurdlers closed out the season with five all-conference and all-region honors under the direction of Strickland. He assumes the responsibility of creating, developing and administering workouts for the sprinters, hurdlers and jumpers. Recruiting future student-athletes, helping with administrative duties such as completing practice and recruiting logs, and submitting meet entries are also responsibilities that Strickland conducts on a daily basis. While assisting the track programs at UNCP as a graduate assistant, he coached the 400m dash and 1600m relay that saw records fall. He has helped to coach 10 all-conference performers, three all-conference relay teams, one conference champion and one relay champion, as well as two provisionally qualifiers for the NCAA Division II National Championships. Strickland interned with the strength and conditioning coach during the spring semester in 2011 and was responsible for ensuring a safe lifting environment and developing proper weight room workouts. While working for the Junior Olympics, he was responsible for coaching the sprinters and jumpers whos ages varied from 11 to 16, as well as teaching the fundaments of running and preparing running workouts.  As an undergrad, he was a member of the Academic Honors List and Chancellors List, as well as being named to the Peach Belt Conference Presidential Honor Roll and Outstanding Freshman of the Year in 2007. He was a four-year athlete for the Braves and participated in the 100m, 200m and 400m relay. He graduated with his Bachelor of Science degree in exercise and sports science from UNCP in May of 2011 and obtained his Masters of Arts in Physical Education in August of 2013.  He currently resides in Pembroke and holds USA Track and Field Level 1 Coach Certification.

Heckroth spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Valparaiso where he headed up the recruiting efforts for the Crusaders, while also serving as the sprints and hurdles coach. During his stint in northern Indiana, he mentored one student-athlete (Nicole Zehel) to the Horizon League title in the steeplechase, while his sprinters and hurdlers also shattered four school records and establish 26 top-5 marks in program annals. In his first season with the Crusaders, his group posted more than 120 personal bests as well. Prior to his stop in the Midwest, Heckroth served as a volunteer assistant coach at California State-Fresno (formerly Fresno State) where he helped develop three USA Junior National Qualifiers in the 400 hurdles, two Mountain West Conference champions and numerous all-conference selections. In addition to his collegiate coaching experience, he also spent time as the sprints and hurdles coach at Waverly-Shell Rock High School in Waverly, Iowa. Under his direction, the Hawks established multiple state records, while also grabbing a handful of state and Drake Relays titles. Heckroth holds a USATF Level 3 and IAAF Level 5 Elite certification in sprints and hurdles. He earned his bachelor's degree in movement and exercise science from Northern Iowa in 2011, and has also earned a pair of postgraduate degrees as well. He earned his master's degree in kinesiology and sports psychology from CSU Fresno in 2013, and was presented with his master's degree in sports administration from Valparaiso in 2015. View: | Desktop

Ormsby Head Coach A 13-year college coaching veteran with stops at both Florida State and Central Florida, Dr. Peter Ormsby was named head coach of the UNC Pembroke cross country and track & field programs in July 2014 and will enter his second year at the helm of the programs in 2015-16. Ormsby came to Pembroke from Babson Park, Fla., where he served as head coach of a multitude of programs at Webber International. He also serves as a lecturer in the Health, Physical Education and Recreation Department at UNCP. Under Ormsby in his first year as a head of the UNC Pembroke track & field teams, both teams turned in banner seasons with third-place finishes at the annual Peach Belt Conference Track & Field Championships in Montevallo, Ala.  A slew of individual awards highlighted action for the Black & Gold at the league gala, including one for Ormsby who was decorated with PBC Mens Track & Field Coach of the Year honors. Seven womens athletes combined to rake in 10 all-PBC honors, including PBC Womens Field Athlete of the Year Hana Metzinger who captured league championships in both the discus and javelin throws. PBC Womens Freshman Field Athlete of the Year Jeanna Cube won PBC titles in both the long jump and the heptathlon as well. Metzinger also took home Capital One Academic All-District distinction, while Brianna Taylor was a part of the PBC All-Sportsmanship Team. Eight mens athletes combined to post 10 all-PBC honors as well, including Mens Freshman Field Athlete of the Year Michael Powell who won the league championship in the 400-meter hurdles. Senior Shaquille Ray won the prestigious 100-meter dash title, while placing second in the 200-meter dash, while the 4x100-meter relay squad placed third. Joel Johnston claimed a spot on the Capital One Academic All-District Team, while Zeke Hoggs was a part of the PBC All-Sportsmanship Team. In his first cross country season with the Braves, Ormsby coached two all-PBC runners, one USTFCCA All-Region award winner, a PBC All-Academic Team athlete and USTFCCCA All-Academic Team honoree on the mens side, while the Braves matched their best finish at the championships as the squad finished second and took home race champion honors twice during 2014. On the womens side, he coached three PBC All-Academic team honorees, one CoSIDA Academic All-District and one USTFCCCA All-Academic runner. Ormsby has had the reigns of dominant cross country and track & field programs at Webber International over the last six years. The cross country programs in Babson Park have recorded 12 national qualifiers, four conference champions and 11 top-5 finishes at the conference championships under Ormsbys watch, while the track & field programs boast 28 conference champions, 124 all-conference laurels and a dozen all-Americans. The womens track & field program took home the 2008 league crown and finished second at the conference championships last season, while the mens track & field team registered five-straight runner-up finishes at the conference championships from 2009-12. A five-time league coach of the year selection and the 2012 conference coach of the year honoree in mens cross country, Ormsby also headed up the triathlon programs (mens and womens) at WIU. A native of Annapolis, Md., Ormsby spent four seasons on the coaching staff at Florida State as both a volunteer coach (2001-04) and an administrative assistant coach (2004-05). While in Tallahassee, Florida States womens cross country teams combined for four appearances at the NCAA Championships, while the track & field squads reeled off five Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Championships, as well as captured the 2005 NCAA East Regional title. That 2005 squad would go on to finish in a tie for fourth at the NCAA Championships. His recipe for success would eventually follow him to nearby Orlando where he helped construct a highly competitive program at Central Florida from 2005-07. During his two-year stint with the Knights, UCFs mens cross country program turned in a pair of top-15 finishes in NCAA Regional competition, while a trio of student-athletes were decorated with All-Conference USA distinction. A four-year letterwinner in cross country at Elon, Ormsby was a member of two (1994, 1996) South Atlantic Conference (SAC) championship squads and earned all-conference honors as a freshman in 1994. A four-time SAC All-Academic Team selection, he earned Athletic Directors Honor Roll nods eight times and was a six-time member of the SAC Honor Roll. Ormsby earned his bachelors degree in sports medicine and psychology from Elon in 1998, and earned his masters degree in human performance and sports studies from Tennessee in 1999. He would go on to earn his doctorate in educational psychology from Florida State in 2006. He holds USA Track & Field certifications in both coaching (Level I) and endurance coaching (Level II), while also possessing Level I USA Triathlon certifications in both triathlon coaching and triathlon race director. Ormsby and his wife, Tracy, have two children, Ean and Sara. He continues to train and compete in both road races and triathlons, having completed Ironman Wisconsin in 2002. Ormsby also coaches a small group of post-collegiate marathoners of various abilities.