University of North Carolina at Charlotte Women's Cross Country

Kaschak coaches and implements the training programs for the Mens and Womens 100m and 200m sprinters and Short Sprint relays. During the 2015 season, Kaschak helped guide athlete senior Joann Blakney  to a 2 C-USA 60m title in 7.37 seconds, just off of her Personal Record of 7.35, to conclude her indoor track career. Khyran Shank and Anthony Bynum  finished the indoor season strong, placing  4 and 7 respectively in the C-USA 60m. Bynum also improved on his 300m school record with a national leading time of 32.99. During the outdoor season, Bynum extended his season to the NCAA East Regional Championships in the 200m after posting a personal record of 20.85 at the 49er Classic. He finished 15 overall at the meet equaling his Personal Best. In the 2014 season, Kaschaks sprint group saw  Blakney win the CUSA 60m title and recorded an undefeated season in that event posting a personal best time of 7.35 seconds. Anthony Bynum broke the school record in the indoor 300m with a time of 33.06, the second fastest time in the nation that year. Kaschaks event group qualified 5 athletes entered in 4 events to the NCAA Regional Championships. The Mens 4x100m set a school record of 39.70 placing 12 at the NCAA Regional Championships and qualified to the National Championships in Eugene, Ore. Leroy Rouse, John Osborne, Bynum, and Shank finished 21 in the nation at the meet and were Charlottes first Mens relay to qualify for the National Championships. The womens 4x100m narrowly missed the NCAA regional meet by one place and .01 seconds. They finished the year ranked 25 in the East Region with a time of 45.24 seconds. In his previous two years, Kaschak assisted in all areas of the sprints/hurdles/relays groups and saw numerous conference champions, Top-Ten performances, and school records. During the 2012 season, Kaschak assisted Associate Head Coach Tim Vaught in producing a record year for the Charlotte's sprints/hurdles squad. The group had 18 A-10 Conference titles, 10 regional qualifiers, four school records, and one national qualifying 4x100m relay team. Prior to Charlotte, Kaschak spent four years with Baylor University. While with the Bears, he spent two years as a volunteer coach (2008-2009) and two years as Director of Operations (2010-2011). In his role as Director of Operations, Kaschak was involved in team budgeting, supervision of the team managers, as well as aiding in travel organization for all track & field and cross country meets. Kaschak also assisted with home track meet management and preparation and daily administrative operations. Kaschak began his coaching career in the 2008 season as a volunteer assistant coach to Director of Track and Field and Hall of Fame Coach, Clyde Hart. While coaching of both the men's and women's 400-meter groups, he helped lead the Lady Bears to back-to-back All-American honors in the 4x400m relay, including a third place finish at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships with a time of 3:29.52, their best finish in the event since 1998. The 4x400 women also won back-to-back Big 12 titles in 2008 and 2009. Among the 400-meter group assisted by Kaschak was Diamond Richardson, who earned a gold medal at the Pan-Am Championships in the 4x400m relay and a silver at the USA Junior Nationals. At the 2009 Big 12 championships, the Baylor women earned a school record three All-Big 12 performances at 400 meters. Under Kaschak's assistance, the men's 400m runners won two national titles in the 4x400m relay in 2008 and one in 2009. Marcus Boyd emerged as a top 400-meter runner, winning a gold in the 400m and 4x400m relay at the 2008 IAAF World Junior Championship in Bydgoszcz, Poland, with a world junior-leading time of 45.53. Prior to Baylor, Kaschak competed at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington, where he ran sprints and relays. He was a member of the UNC-Wilmington 2005 and 2007 CAA conference championship teams, contributing with three individual conference championships in the 4x400m relay. While at UNC-Wilmington, Kaschak also earned All-East honors in 2006 and 2007 in the 4x100m relays at the IC4A Championships and was a member of three school-record sprint relays. He earned Academic All-America honors in 2004, 2005 and 2006. Kaschak earned a bachelor's degree in exercise science from UNC-Wilmington in 2007 and a master's in exercise physiology from Baylor in 2009. He also holds USATF Level 1 and NSCA C.S.C.S. certifications. Kaschak is a native of Raleigh, N.C., where he was a state champion in the 400m during high school competition. He resides in Charlotte with his wife, Carrie.

Helf, who competed in the SEC in the very successful and highly regarded throwing program at the University of Georgia, joined the Charlotte staff mid-season in April 2012 after two seasons of coaching at Campbell University. 2016 will go down as one of the most successful seasons to date for the 49er throwers. Helf who oversaw Stevan Veselinovic (WT, HT) and Victoria Merriweather (WT, HT), both combined for 4 school records and 3 conference titles through the indoor and outdoor seasons. Veselinovic also set an U23 Serbian national record in the hammer throw. Among these performances were 7 other all conference scorers in the throws. In 2015, Helf oversaw transfer Victoria Merriweather break throwing records in both the discus and weight throw during both the indoor and outdoor campaigns. Merriweather and Dan Freeman (Javelin) also went on to compete at the NCAA East preliminaries. His throwers turned in over ten All-Time performances. In 2014, the Charlotte throwers enjoyed success as they returned to Conference USA. At the C-USA indoor championships Kerrick Williams was crowned Conference champion in the weight throw. Multiple 49ers moved onto and up the top ten list in many of the throw events, while three student-athletes set program records. Katrina Wright in the weight throw, Dan Freeman and Aubrey Dowding in the javelin. In 2013, Helf saw Senior Jake Deaton set the A10 and school Indoor shot put record, win three A10 titles as well as a school record in the discus and qualifying for the NCAA championships in Eugene Oregon in the event. Since Helfs start in April 2012 the Men and Women throwers have set eight school records, won one CUSA title, four A10 titles, five A10 runner up finishes, seven NCAA East Preliminary Qualifiers and one NCAA Championship qualifier. At Campbell, Helf saw five school records broken and helped the throws group contribute a significant number of the team's conference points. He also guided the program through a head coaching change, acting as interim head coach for several months and assuming much responsibility in day-to-day administrative operations. Prior to Campbell, Helf competed for four years at the University of Georgia as a member of the Bulldogs track and field team. He ended his collegiate career ranked fourth on the school's all-time indoor/outdoor shot put list. As a Bulldog, Helf was a four-time indoor/outdoor NCAA Championships qualifier in the shot put and a 2008 NCAA Finalist in the event. That season, he was named the UGA Field Athlete of the Year. In 2007, Helf won the bronze medal in the shot put at both the indoor and outdoor SEC Championship. That year, he was also the Texas Relays shot put champion and received the UGA Thrower of the Year honor. In addition, he was a two-time UGA Roundtable Scholar Athlete and a two-time SEC Academic Honor Roll Student. In the year following finishing his eligibility, Helf remained at Georgia to finish his degree. He interned for the Georgia team, worked in the academic center, coached at a high school and did some private coaching before getting his start in collegiate coaching at Campbell.   A native of Ontario, Canada, Helf has also represented his native country in the sport of track and field over a several year period. Among his accomplishments is a pair of second place finishes in the shot put at the 2008 Canadian Olympic Trials and the 2006 Canadian National Championships. Additionally, Helf is a multiple-time national team member for Canada in the Youth, Junior and U23 categories. Helf, who obtained his Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Georgia in 2009, is also an ISSA certified specialist in strength and conditioning and certified teacher of health and physical education. Accolades at Charlotte: 8 Conference Titles in the throws Broken school records 18 times 2 A10 Conference records (Mens Indoor shot put & discus 2013) Serbian U23 National Record in Hammer throw 1 National Championship qualifier 11 NCAA east preliminary qualifiers

Brewer helped his athletes crack into the top ten in Charlottes all-time performance lists with 21 mens performances (12 indoor, 9 outdoor) and 14 womens performances (6 indoor, 8 outdoor). Brewer coached 18 all-conference performances with five womens A-10 champions and seven mens A-10 champions. Six athletes qualified for the NCAA Outdoor East Preliminaries and assisted one athlete to the USATF Junior Outdoor Championships. He worked with athletes to set multiple school records. Brewer coached TShelia Mungo set the womens 500 meter indoor record, LeAnna Morrison set the 400 meter intermediate hurdles (A-10 Championships) and the shuttle relay event during the womens outdoor season. Before coming to Charlotte, Brewer served as an assistant with the womens track and field program at Davidson College for six years. He worked primarily with sprinters, hurdlers and the jumps. During his tenure with the Wildcats, Brewer helped the women set 15 new school records, in addition to an indoor and outdoor Southern Conference record. He coached two NCAA qualifiers, including an NCAA Outdoor All-American in the high jump. Prior to Davidson, the Charlotte native served as the assistant track coach at Lees-McRae College, where he helped the mens and womens teams set 25 new indoor and outdoor school records. He also coached eight NCAA Division II national and provisional qualifiers. Brewer previously spent four years at Brevard College, coaching tracksters to 10 NJCAA national qualifying marks, six NAIA national and provisional qualifying marks and a pair of school records. As a student-athlete, Brewer competed for Appalachian State University, where he helped his track and field team win Southern Conference Championships in 1995 and 1996. Prior to App, Brewer lettered in track and field at Brevard College, where he served as a team captain. A graduate of Myers Park High School in Charlotte, he lettered in football, track and cross country, and was a state qualifier in the 110-meter hurdles. Brewer earned an Associate of Arts degree from Brevard College in 1993 and a Bachelor of Science in Health Promotions from Appalachian State in 1996. Additionally, Brewer is USA Track and Field Level I and Level II certified and a United State Weightlifting Certified Sport Performance Coach. He has received instruction in therapeutic spinal dysfunction, post-rehabilitation training, performance enhancement and muscle testing training.

Olesen has helped the 49ers win 19 indoor & outdoor track and field league titles and a conference title in mens cross country. Since his arrival, the vast majority of the school records in both the indoor and outdoor seasons have been established and nearly all of the top 10 performances have come since Olesen came to Charlotte. From 2006 to indoor 2010, Charlotte swept all womens conference titles, earning seven in a row. Olesen was named A-10 Coach of the Year 15 times, along with Southeast Region Mens Indoor Coach of the Year three times (2008, 2009, 2010) and Southeast District Womens Outdoor Coach of the Year once (2006). Under Olesen, Charlotte has garnered 20 NCAA All-America honors from 11 different individuals, most recently Trey McRae in the high jump in 2014, in addition to 11 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans. Olesen guided Charlottes first male track & field All-American (Rephel Martin, 2000) and womens indoor All-Americans (Shareese Woods and Cassie Ficken, 2005). Charlotte has had 11 Most Outstanding Rookies and 16 Most Outstanding Performers in track and field during its eight year Atlantic 10 tenure. In addition, under his watch the 49ers track & field program has produced its first USA Junior National Team member for track and field (2001-Ian Dickinson), World Junior Cross Country National Team member (2005, Nick Sunseri-Canada), its first Olympian (Abe Morlu-Liberia, 2000) and a gold-medal winner for the U.S. in international competition (Shareese Woods, at the NACAC in 2006) among other accolades. Olesen was named the A-10 mens and womens outdoor Coach of the Year during the 2012 season in which both teams captured the conference title. He was also tabbed with the same honor as the womens indoor Coach of the Year for 2012. The 4x100 meter relay team (La Trese Barker, JoAnn Blakney, Briauna Jones, and Sirrell Butler) earned a trip to the NCAA finals that same season. Charlottes year was also highlighted by pole vault athlete Macy Ruble, who was awarded an NCAA Postgraduate scholarship and named the A-10 Scholar Athlete of the Year. Ruble ended his career at Charlotte posting a flawless 4.0 GPA, while double majoring in mathematics and physics. In 2013, Jake Deaton, participated in the NCAA T&F Championships in Eugene, Oregon placing 20th overall. Olesen saw senior Darius Law, a 2011 NCAA Walter Byers Scholarship Finalist, earn a school-record three Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-America awards. Excelling in the classroom throughout college with a 4.0 GPA in management, Law was also named the 2010 Arthur Ashe Jr. Scholar-Athlete of the Year, one of two national winners and several finalists in recent years for Charlotte. He ended his collegiate career with a school-record 26 gold medals in Atlantic-10 Championship competition, including seven as a senior. Law competed at the 2011 NCAA Championships in the 400-meters and was the only athlete to qualify for the 2010 NCAA Championships in both the 200 and 400-meters, earning All-America honors in the indoor 400-meter dash. In addition to Law, the track and field program produced another recent All-American in Amanda Goetschius, who earned the honor with her performance at the 2010 womens indoor 5,000-meters. Along with All-America accolades, both Law and Goetschius earned berths into the outdoor national finals, as did Adu Dentamo. Goetschius wrapped up the 2010 season by running in the 10,000-meters at the USA Track and Field Championships, as did Sunita Braithwaite in the 100-meter hurdles. Charlotte sent a school-record eight athletes to the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships with senior long jumper Pat Springs turning in her second All-America performance of her senior year. At the 2007 NCAA Championship, former 49er sprinter Shareese Woods came just two steps away from making the trip to Beijing for the 2008 Summer Games. Former Triple Jumper Sharonda Johnson was the first female All-American in a jumping event and recorded the feat twice during her career. As a field-event specialist, Olesen has had eight All-American performances in the jumps at Charlotte; in addition, the 49ers have had All-Americans in each of the major event categories, including sprints, field events and distance for each gender since Olesen began his tenure as head coach. Olesen is a 1990 graduate of the University of Illinois, earning a Bachelor's Degree in Kinesiology with a coaching endorsement. He garnered All-America honors in the triple jump in 1989 and was the Big Ten triple jump champ and the team MVP in 1990. Olesen, who first joined the Illini as a walk-on, earned four letters and competed in both the triple and long jumps. Olesen got his coaching start as a Graduate Assistant at Southwest Texas State in 1990. He served as assistant coach there from 1992-95, and earned his Master's Degree in Physical Education from Southwest Texas State in 1995. While in Texas competing as a post-graduate, Olesen competed in the 1992 Olympic Trials in New Orleans. Olesen is a USA Track and Field level one certified coach as well as being level two certified in both the jumping and throwing events. In addition to his success on the track, Olesen was a member of the 1998 United States Olympic Bobsled team, helping the U.S. finish seventh in the two-man bobsled at the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan. En route to this accomplishment, his sled teams accumulated eleven world cup medals, including two bronze at the 1997 World Championship, an Olympic Trials championship and a number of U.S. Championships. His tenure with the team lasted from 1994-1998, during which he also earned the 1995-96 USOC Athlete of the Year Award in the sport of bobsled and was a member of the 1996-97 USOC two-man bobsled team of the year. Olesen and his wife, Cindy, who was a four-time Big Ten high jump champion, have two children, Elizabeth and Thomas.

Gibbys leadership in cross country and distance events will be instrumental in establishing ourselves as a top ranked program in Conference USA and also in making our mark in regional and national level competition." "I appreciate the opportunity offered by Coach Olesen and (associate athletic director) Kim Whitestone to work with the Mens and Womens Cross-Country programs as well as the distance and middle-distance runners on the track side, Gibby said. "I think Charlotte has tremendous potential with the support offered the program combined with the local training venues and I am excited to see what we can do as a program both in Conference USA and at a national level." Running in the competitive Big Ten Conference, the Wolverines had great success under Gibbys direction. He helped lead the mens cross country program to a pair of Big Ten Conference runner-up finishes in 2012 and 2013 as well as the 2013 NCAA Great Lakes Region team title as he was named the 2013 Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year. The Wolverines also qualified for the NCAA Cross Country Championships as a team in each season from 2011-13, finishing in the top 25 on all three occasions. Individually, he led ten runners to All-Big Ten accolades, including two first-team performers. Under his direction, Mason Ferlic became Michigans first All-American in cross country since 2004 as the sophomore finished 22nd overall at the NCAAs. In addition to cross country, Gibby also coached distance runners on the track. In his four seasons with the Wolverines, he helped guide 14 student-athletes to the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds, two to the NCAA Indoor Championships and five to NCAA Outdoor Championship appearances. In addition to Ferlics achievement in cross country, a number of other Michigan runners set schools records on the track, including Dan Lowry in the indoor 5000 meters (13:42.48) and Craig Forys set the Big Ten meet record in the 3000m (8:28.90) steeplechase. Forys was the runner-up at the 2012 NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 3,000m steeplechase and Mason Ferlic placed fourth in the 3,000m steeplechase at the 2014 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Along with the success on the track, Michigan was strong in the classroom as twenty-one cross country student-athletes earned Academic All-Big Ten honors and one runner was named to the Capital One Academic All-District V first-team. Prior to his arrival in Ann Arbor, Gibby spent seven years (2003-10) as the head coach of the William and Mary mens cross country and track and field programs. In his time with the Tribe, he was honored as the Southeast Region Coach of the Year three times (2005, 08 & 09) as he led his team to the regional title all three seasons. He helped guide his student-athletes to nine All-American citations, including six in cross country, as William and Mary made seven straight national cross country team appearances. Overall, he has guided a team to nationals ten of the last eleven years. The Tribe finished fifth at the 2009 NCAA Cross Country National Championships and eighth in 2006, while averaging 20th in the country over a four-year period. Before his time at William & Mary, Gibby spent three years at Stephen F. Austin University in Texas where he helped guide the mens and womens cross country and track programs to four team titles along with 18 individual conference championships. Gibby earned his start in coaching as an assistant coach at William and Mary from 1997-99, guiding W&M to three straight top-13 NCAA finishes in cross country. Gibby earned his undergraduate degree from William and Mary in 1997. He ran track and cross country for the Tribe earning four-time All-CAA honors, including a conference championship in the 5,000 meters, along with being a member of two NCAA-qualifying cross country squads in 1994 and 1995. Gibby is married to Kathy Newberry and the couple has two children, Anson and Cora. Newberry served as the head coach for William and Marys womens cross country and track programs for five seasons (2005-10), guiding her teams to 10 CAA titles, including five in cross country. She has represented the United State in five World Cross Country Championships, at the 2011 IAAF World Track and Field Championships in the marathon, and competed in the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Trials in the 10,000m and the 5,000m at the 2004 Trials.