Wichita State University Women's Track

Coaching Achievements (at WSU) • 265 All-Conference Honors • 85 Individual Conference Champions • 38 NCAA All-America Honors • 17 All-Region Honors 2 Cross Country Conference Team Championships • 2x Conference Head Coach of the Year • NJCAA Coaches Hall of Fame • Colby CC Coaches Hall of Fame Coaching Experience • Wichita State: Head Cross Country Coach/Assistant Track and Field Coach - Distance (2009-Present) • Butler Community College: Head Cross Country/Track and Field Coach (2000-09) • Colby Community College: Head Cross Country/Track and Field Coach (1988-2000) • Athletic Achievements • Finished 7th in 1986 NAIA marathon • Cross Country NAIA All-American • Finished 17th in 1985 NAIA Cross Country Championships• Now in his 17th year as Wichita State’s head cross country coach and assistant track and field coach, Kirk Hunter has maintained one of the top distance programs in the Midwest.   Hunter has coached at the collegiate level for 36 years, serving as the Colby Community College head coach from 1988-2000 and the Butler Community College head coach from 2000-09 before taking over as Wichita State’s distance leader in 2009. He was named the NJCAA Coach of the Year 22 times between his men’s and women’s cross country and track and field teams’ successes, coaching 274 athletes to a total of 674 NJCAA All-American honors and 45 Honorable Mention honors. He coached 50 individual national champions and 79 runner-up national finishers, claiming six NJCAA team championships and seven NJCAA second place team trophies. Hunter served as President of the NJCAA DI Cross Country Coaches Association from 2000-05 and Vice President from 2005-08 and was inducted into both the Colby Community College and NJCAA Coaches Hall Fame.   Since joining the Shockers in 2009, Hunter has coached 37 All-Americans, 84 individual conference champions and has led Wichita State to two cross country conference team titles, the first being the 2010 Missouri Valley Conference Women’s Championship and the most recent being the 2018 American Athletic Conference Women’s Championship. He was named the MVC Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year in 2010 and has coached eight conference cross country Runners of the Year, four in the MVC and four in the AAC. He also assists with the multi-event athletes’ training in the 800 meters, 1,000 meters and 1500 meters, helping the Shockers continue their long history of success in the multis.   In Hunter’s first season with the Shockers (2009-10), the women’s cross country team continued its tradition of winning Missouri Valley Conference titles. Hunter was named 2010 MVC Cross Country Women’s Coach of the Year as the women claimed their sixth-straight MVC cross country crown in the fall of 2010. Senior Tonya Nero won the MVC Championship and was named the MVC Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Year. Nero went on to place 16th at the NCAA Championships and was named an NCAA All-American. In the spring of 2010, Wichita State won the MVC men’s and women’s indoor team titles, as well as the men’s outdoor team title. Hunter coached Nero to indoor MVC titles in the mile and 5,000 meters and outdoor MVC titles in the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters. Nero was named the MVC Indoor Most Valuable Athlete for her performances at the conference championships. She also set a then WSU record in the outdoor 10,000 meters with a time of 33:11.71, qualifying her for the outdoor NCAA West Preliminaries. With an NCAA First Round win in the 10,000 meters, she advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, where she finished seventh overall, earning First Team All-America recognition.   During the Shockers’ 2010-11 season, Hunter led the women’s cross country team to an MVC runner-up finish, while the men finished fourth as a team. Aliphine Tuliamuk won her first MVC individual cross country title and was named the MVC Cross Country Women’s Athlete of the Year before going on to win the NCAA Midwest Regional. Tuliamuk finished 12th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships to be named an NCAA Cross Country All-American, her first of 13 All-America honors. During the track and field season, the Shockers swept the MVC women’s championships, winning both the 2011 indoor and outdoor team titles. Tuliamuk was named the MVC Women’s Indoor Most Outstanding Track Athlete, winning the 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters, and Tonya Nero claimed another distance title for the Shockers, winning the mile. Tuliamuk and Nero both qualified to the 2011 NCAA Indoor Championships in the 5,000 meters, where they finished eighth and 13th, respectively. Tuliamuk was named a First Team All-American, and Nero was named a Second Team All-American. At the MVC Outdoor Championships, the Shocker women swept the long-distance titles with Tuliamuk winning the 5,000 meters and Nero 10,000 meters. The pair went on to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, Tuliamuk in the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters and Nero in the 10,000 meters. Tuliamuk took fifth and Nero seventh in the 10,000 meters, and Tuliamuk finished eighth in the 5,000 meters for a total of three First Team All-America awards between them.   In 2011-12, Tuliamuk continued her cross country dominance, winning her second MVC individual title and being named the MVC Cross Country Athlete of the Year for the second-straight season. She went on to become the second Shocker woman in history to win the NCAA Midwest Regional, qualifying to the NCAA Championships, where she finished 12th, earning All-America recognition. Hunter’s group had four indoor and four outdoor conference champions. Tuliamuk won the indoor 3,000 and 5,000 as well as the outdoor 5,000 and 10,000 and was named the MVC Women’s Indoor Most Outstanding Track Athlete for the second time. Tomas Cotter won his first two MVC titles, winning the indoor 3,000 and outdoor steeplechase, and Danielle Chapman (Walker) swept the indoor and outdoor 800-meter titles. The Shocker women won their second-straight MVC Outdoor Championship. Tuliamuk claimed four more All-America awards, finishing second in the NCAA outdoor 10,000, third in the NCAA indoor 5,000, fifth in the NCAA outdoor 5,000 and seventh in the NCAA indoor 3,000.   In 2012-13, Tuliamuk’s senior season, she defended all five of her MVC titles and claimed five more All-America awards for a grand total of 13, becoming the most decorated student-athlete in Shocker history. She was the NCAA runner up in the 10,000 for the second-straight year, tying for the best Shocker finish in women’s history. Tuliamuk also finished third in the NCAA indoor 5,000, fourth in cross country, fourth in the outdoor 5,000, and sixth in the indoor 3,000. That same year, she teamed up with Samantha Shukla, Cassidy Downing and Clarissa Johnson to win the MVC distance medley relay title. Ryan Hocker won the MVC indoor 800, and Cotter won the MVC outdoor 1500 and steeplechase. Tuliamuk was named the MVC Women’s Indoor Most Valuable Athlete, leading the women to another MVC Indoor Championship, and Cotter was named the Men’s Outdoor Most Outstanding Track Athlete. Cotter qualified to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the steeplechase, where he finished ninth to be named a Second Team All-American. He went on to represent Ireland at back-to-back European Team Championships, as well as representing both WSU and Ireland at the 2013 World University Games in Russia, where he finished 10th in the steeplechase. The 2013-14 season was highlighted by Ugis Jocis’s MVC indoor mile victory, and the Wichita State women won another MVC Outdoor Championship.   In 2014-15, Hunter’s Shockers swept the MVC outdoor steeplechase titles with Jocis winning the men’s race and Sidney Hirsch claiming the women’s title. The Shocker women claimed their second-straight MVC Outdoor Championship.   In 2015-16, seven distance runners earned All-Valley honors by finishing in the top three at the 2016 MVC Indoor and Outdoor Championships, helping Wichita State win the MVC Women’s Outdoor and Men’s Indoor and Outdoor Championship team titles.   During the 2016 cross country season he coached the Shockers to a second-place men’s finish, the highest in his tenure, and a third-place women’s finish. Rebekah Topham won her first MVC title, taking the women’s cross country crown for Wichita State and earning All-MVC honors as the MVC Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Year. She went on to claim the MVC indoor mile, indoor 3,000 and outdoor 5,000 titles, while Sidney Hirsch claimed the MVC indoor 5,000 title. In the Shockers’ final year in the Missouri Valley Conference, Wichita State swept all four team titles before moving to the American Athletic Conference.   In the Shockers’ first season as a member of the AAC, Hunter coached Winny Koskei to two individual outdoor titles. Koskei swept the long-distance events at the 2018 AAC Outdoor Championships, winning the 5,000 and 10,000. Zack Penrod also won an AAC title, claiming victory in the indoor mile, and recorded a runner-up finish in the outdoor 1500m. Topham ran a school record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (10:00.59) to finish 13th overall at the USATF Senior Outdoor Championships, and Ben Flowers finished fifth at the USATF Junior Outdoor Championships.   In 2018-19, Hunter coached Koskei to her first of three AAC Cross Country titles and led the Shocker women to the 2018 AAC Cross Country Championship team title. Hunter was named the AAC Cross Country Coach of the Year, and Koskei was recognized as the AAC Cross Country Athlete of the Year. Koskei also went on to earn All-American status with a 35th-place finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. At the AAC Indoor Championships, Penrod defended his mile title, and three Shocker women claimed distance titles, with Topham winning both the mile and 3,000 and Koskei claiming the 5,000 title. Hunter coached Topham, Yazmine Wright, Trudy Martin and Tianna Holmes to the distance medley relay title. At the AAC Outdoor Championships, Penrod won the 1500, Topham claimed her first steeplechase title, and Koskei defended her 10,000-meter title, leading the Shocker women to their first AAC Outdoor Championship team title. Hunter was named to the AAC Coaching Staff of the Year. Topham qualified to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the steeplechase, where she finished eighth to earn First Team All-America recognition, the first Shocker woman since Mica Land in 2008 eight to be named a steeplechase All-American. During the 2019 cross country season, Hunter coached the American’s best duo in Winny Koskei and Rebekah Topham. Koskei defended her conference crown and went on to the NCAA Championships for the second consecutive year where she finished in the top 50. Topham finished as the conference’s runner-up, earning All-AAC honors. Ben Flowers had a breakout season under Hunter’s tutelage. Flowers was an All-Conference and All-Region athlete with a seventh-place finish at the conference meet and a 17th-place finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional. The indoor 2020 season saw Hunter’s group claim all three of the Shockers’ individual conference titles. Topham won her second-straight AAC Indoor MVP award for scoring 21 team points, including titles in the mile and the 3,000. The men’s distance medley relay team won their own conference title with a huge kick from Adam Moore.   After a cancelled 2020 outdoor season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 cross country season was postponed until the spring of 2021 and condensed. Koskei ended her cross country career with her third-straight AAC title and Athlete of the Year award. The 2021 AAC Indoor Championships were cancelled, but Hunter’s group won three individual titles at the outdoor championships with Penrod winning the 800 and Ethan Kossover and Topham sweeping the steeplechase titles.   During the 2021 cross country season, Hunter coached Yazmine Wright to an AAC individual title, AAC Athlete of the Year honors and All-Region honors and led the men's team to a second-place conference team finish. The team earned six total (four men, two women) all-conference honors. During the 2022 track and field season, Hunter's group earned four all-conference indoor honors with three individual runner-up finishes and a third-place DMR. Outdoor, Hunter coached Clayton Duchatschek to the AAC steeplechase title, and Adam Moore and Britte Magnuson added three all-conference honors for his group, helping the Shocker men win their first AAC Outdoor Championship team title. Hunter was named to the 2022 AAC Coaching Staff of the Year.   In 2022-23, Hunter led the Shocker men to another men’s runner-up team finish at the AAC Cross Country Championships. Duchatschek recorded the highest-ever AAC finish by a male Shocker, finishing fifth. Duchatschek and Adrian Diaz Lopez both earning All-Region honors at the NCAA Midwest Regional. The Shocker men claimed their second-straight AAC Outdoor title with the help of two runner-up finishes from Hunter’s group. Diaz Lopez finished second in the 10,000 meters, and Duchatschek was the steeplechase runner up. Hunter’s 5,000-meter group helped secure the team title, scoring 10 points. Hunter was named to the 2023 AAC Coach Staff of the Year for the second-straight year.   Lucy Ndungu highlighted the 2023-24 season for Hunter’s group, racing to an AAC Cross Country runner-up finish and earning All-Region recognition with a 22nd-place finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional. Farrah Miller raced to runner-up finishes in the indoor and outdoor 800 meters, and Ndungu earned two runner-up finishes at the AAC Outdoor Championships, finishing second in the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters. She advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 10,000 meters, where she earned Honorable Mention All-America recognition. In 2024-25, Sarah Bertry earned all-conference cross country recognition with a 14th-place finish at the American Championships. Hunter coached Yared Kidane to an indoor/outdoor sweep of the American 800-meter titles and a third all-conference finish in the 1500 meters. Kidane qualified to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 800 meters and 4x400, where he earned Second Team All-American honors in the 800 and Honorable Mention recognition in the relay. Kidane also ran on both the indoor and outdoor school record breaking 4x400-meter relays. Hunter also coached Farrah Miller to an American outdoor 800-meter title and another trip to the NCAA West Preliminaries. The 2025-26 cross country season was highlighted by sophomore Elkana Kipruto’s historic run to the NCAA Championships. Kipruto claimed the first men’s conference title of the Hunter era, winning the American Conference 8K. Mercy Jepkoech was named American Conference Freshman of the Year with a 10th-place finish at the American Conference Championships. Three other Shockers joined Kipruto and Jepkoech on the all-conference teams as Kelvin Kipyego finished sixth, Adrian Diaz Lopez finished 12th and Lucy Ndungu finished 12th. CONFERENCE CROSS COUNTRY COACH OF THE YEAR 2010 Missouri Valley Conference 2018 American Athletic Conference PIZZA HUT SHOCKER SPORTS HALL OF FAME Tonya Nero Aliphine Tuliamuk   NCAA ALL-AMERICANS – 38 2010 Men’s Indoor Heptathlon – Chris Dickman 2010 Women’s Cross Country – Tonya Nero 2011 Women’s Indoor 5,000m – Aliphine Tuliamuk 2011 Women’s Indoor 5,000m – Tonya Nero 2011 Women’s Outdoor 5,000m – Aliphine Tuliamuk 2011 Women’s Outdoor 10,000m – Aliphine Tuliamuk 2011 Women’s Outdoor 10,000m – Tonya Nero 2011 Women’s Cross Country – Aliphine Tuliamuk 2012 Women’s Indoor 3,000m – Aliphine Tuliamuk 2012 Women’s Indoor 5,000m – Aliphine Tuliamuk 2012 Women’s Outdoor 5,000m – Aliphine Tuliamuk 2012 Women’s Outdoor 10,000m – Aliphine Tuliamuk 2012 Women’s Cross Country – Aliphine Tuliamuk 2013 Men’s Indoor Heptathlon – Austin Bahner 2013 Women’s Indoor 3,000m – Aliphine Tuliamuk 2013 Women’s Indoor 5,000m – Aliphine Tuliamuk 2013 Women’s Indoor Pentathlon – Tanya Friesen 2013 Men’s Outdoor Decathlon – Austin Bahner 2013 Men’s Outdoor 3K Steeplechase – Tomas Cotter 2013 Women’s Outdoor 5,000m – Aliphine Tuliamuk 2013 Women’s Outdoor 10,000m – Aliphine Tuliamuk 2013 Women’s Outdoor Heptathlon – Tanya Friesen 2014 Men’s Indoor Heptathlon – Austin Bahner 2015 Women’s Outdoor Heptathlon – Nikki Larch-Miller 2017 Men’s Indoor Heptathlon – Hunter Veith 2017 Women’s Indoor Pentathlon – Nikki Larch-Miller 2017 Women’s Indoor Pentathlon – Breanne Borman 2017 Men’s Outdoor Decathlon – Hunter Veith 2017 Women’s Outdoor Heptathlon – Breanne Borman 2017 Women’s Outdoor Heptathlon – Gavyn Yetter 2018 Men’s Indoor Heptathlon – Hunter Veith 2018 Women’s Cross Country – Winny Koskei 2019 Men’s Indoor Heptathlon – Ben Johnson 2019 Men’s Outdoor Decathlon – Ben Johnson 2019 Women’s Outdoor 3K Steeplechase – Rebekah Topham 2024 Women’s Indoor Pentathlon – Destiny Masters 2024 Women’s Outdoor Heptathlon – Destiny Masters 2025 Men's Cross Country – Elkana Kipruto   MVC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS - 54 2010 Men’s Indoor Heptathlon – Chris Dickman 2010 Women’s Indoor Mile – Tonya Nero 2010 Women’s Indoor 5,000m – Tonya Nero 2010 Women’s Outdoor 5,000m – Tonya Nero 2010 Women’s Outdoor 10,000m – Tonya Nero 2011 Men’s Indoor Heptathlon – Krzysztof Slupkowski 2011 Women’s Indoor Mile – Tonya Nero 2011 Women’s Indoor 3,000m – Aliphine Tuliamuk 2011 Women’s Indoor 5,000m – Aliphine Tuliamuk 2011 Women’s Outdoor 5,000m – Aliphine Tuliamuk 2011 Women’s Outdoor 10,000m – Tonya Nero 2011 Women’s Cross Country – Aliphine Tuliamuk 2012 Men’s Indoor 3,000m – Tomas Cotter 2012 Women’s Indoor 800m – Danielle Walker 2012 Women’s Indoor 3,000m – Aliphine Tuliamuk 2012 Women’s Indoor 5,000m – Aliphine Tuliamuk 2012 Men’s Outdoor 3K Steeplechase – Tomas Cotter 2012 Women’s Outdoor 800m – Danielle Chapman 2012 Women’s Outdoor 5,000m – Aliphine Tuliamuk 2012 Women’s Outdoor 10,000m – Aliphine Tuliamuk 2012 Women’s Outdoor Heptathlon – Tanya Friesen 2012 Women’s Cross Country – Aliphine Tuliamuk 2013 Men’s Indoor 800m – Ryan Hocker 2013 Men’s Indoor Heptathlon – Austin Bahner 2013 Women’s Indoor 3,000m – Aliphine Tuliamuk 2013 Women’s Indoor 5,000m – Aliphine Tuliamuk 2013 Women’s Indoor DMR – Aliphine Tuliamuk, Samantha Shukla, Cassidy Downing, Clarissa Johnson 2013 Women’s Indoor Pentathlon – Tanya Friesen 2013 Men’s Outdoor 1500m – Tomas Cotter 2013 Men’s Outdoor 3K Steeplechase – Tomas Cotter 2013 Men’s Outdoor Decathlon – Austin Bahner 2013 Women’s Outdoor 5,000m – Aliphine Tuliamuk 2013 Women’s Outdoor 10,000m – Aliphine Tuliamuk 2013 Women’s Outdoor Heptathlon – Tanya Friesen 2014 Men’s Indoor Mile – Ugis Jocis 2014 Men’s Indoor Heptathlon – Kyle Troxler 2014 Women’s Indoor Pentathlon – Nikki Larch-Miller 2014 Men’s Outdoor Decathlon – Austin Bahner 2015 Men’s Indoor Heptathlon – Hunter Veith 2015 Women’s Indoor Pentathlon – Nikki Larch-Miller 2015 Women’s Indoor Pentathlon – Breanne Borman 2015 Men’s Outdoor 3K Steeplechase – Ugis Jocis 2015 Women’s Outdoor 3K Steeplechase – Sidney Hirsch 2016 Men’s Outdoor Decathlon – Hunter Veith 2016 Women’s Outdoor Heptathlon – Breanne Borman 2016 Women’s Cross Country – Rebekah Topham 2017 Men’s Indoor Heptathlon – Hunter Veith 2017 Women’s Indoor Mile – Rebekah Topham 2017 Women’s Indoor 3,000m – Rebekah Topham 2017 Women’s Indoor 5,000m – Sidney Hirsch 2017 Women’s Indoor Pentathlon – Breanne Borman 2017 Men’s Outdoor Decathlon – Ben Johnson 2017 Women’s Outdoor 5,000m – Rebekah Topham 2017 Women’s Outdoor Heptathlon – Breanne Borman   AMERICAN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS - 31 2018 Men’s Indoor 800m – Zack Penrod 2018 Women’s Outdoor 5,000m – Winny Koskei 2018 Women’s Outdoor 10,000m – Winny Koskei 2018 Women’s Outdoor Heptathlon – Kendra Henry 2018 Women’s Cross Country – Winny Koskei 2019 Men’s Indoor Mile – Zack Penrod 2019 Men’s Indoor Heptathlon – Ben Johnson 2019 Women’s Indoor Mile – Rebekah Topham 2019 Women’s Indoor 3,000m – Rebekah Topham 2019 Women’s Indoor 5,000m – Winny Koskei 2019 Women’s Indoor DMR – Rebekah Topham, Yazmine Wright, Trudy Martin, Tianna Holmes 2019 Men’s Outdoor 1500m – Zack Penrod 2019 Men’s Outdoor Decathlon – Ben Johnson 2019 Women’s Outdoor 10,000m – Winny Koskei 2019 Women’s Outdoor 3K Steeplechase – Rebekah Topham 2019 Women’s Outdoor Heptathlon – Kendra Henry 2019 Women’s Cross Country – Winny Koskei 2020 Men’s Indoor DMR – Jed Helker, Jace Coppoc, Josh Cable, Adam Moore 2020-21 Women’s Cross Country – Winny Koskei 2021 Men’s Outdoor 800m – Zack Penrod 2021 Men’s Outdoor 3K Steeplechase – Ethan Kossover 2021 Women’s Outdoor 3K Steeplechase – Rebekah Topham 2021 Women’s Cross Country – Yazmine Wright 2022 Men’s Indoor Heptathlon – Adria Navajon 2022 Men’s Outdoor 3K Steeplechase – Clayton Duchatschek 2022 Men’s Outdoor Decathlon – Adria Navajon 2023 Men’s Indoor Heptathlon – Adria Navajon 2023 Women’s Outdoor Heptathlon – Destiny Masters 2024 Men’s Indoor Heptathlon – Adria Navajon 2024 Men’s Outdoor Decathlon – Adria Navajon 2025 Men's Cross Country – Elkana Kipruto   MVC CROSS COUNTRY ATHLETE OF THE YEAR 2010 Tonya Nero 2011 Aliphine Tuliamuk 2012 Aliphine Tuliamuk 2016 Rebekah Topham   AMERICAN CONFERENCE CROSS COUNTRY SUPERLATIVES 2018 Winny Koskei Athlete of the Year 2019 Winny Koskei Athlete of the Year 2020 Winny Koskei Athlete of the Year 2021 Yazmine Wright Athlete of the Year 2025 Mercy Jepkoech Freshman of the Year   MVC TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS SUPERLATIVES 2010 Women’s Indoor Most Valuable Athlete – Tonya Nero 2011 Women’s Indoor Most Outstanding Track Athlete – Aliphine Tuliamuk 2012 Women’s Indoor Most Outstanding Track Athlete – Aliphine Tuliamuk 2013 Men’s Outdoor Most Outstanding Track Athlete – Tomas Cotter 2013 Women’s Indoor Most Valuable Athlete – Aliphine Tuliamuk   AMERICAN CONFERENCE TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS SUPERLATIVES 2019 Women’s Outdoor Most Valuable Performer – Rebekah Topham 2020 Women’s Indoor Most Valuable Performer – Rebekah Topham 2020 Women’s Outdoor Most Valuable Performer – Rebekah Topham 2021 Women’s Indoor Most Valuable Performer – Rebekah Topham   CONFERENCE TEAM CHAMPIONS - 21 2009 MVC Women’s Cross Country 2010 MVC Men’s Indoor 2010 MVC Women’s Indoor 2010 MVC Men’s Outdoor 2011 MVC Women’s Indoor 2011 MVC Women’s Outdoor 2012 MVC Women’s Outdoor 2013 MVC Women’s Indoor 2014 MVC Women’s Outdoor 2015 MVC Women’s Outdoor 2016 MVC Men’s Indoor 2016 MVC Men’s Outdoor 2016 MVC Women’s Outdoor 2017 MVC Men’s Indoor 2017 MVC Women’s Indoor 2017 MVC Men’s Outdoor 2017 MVC Women’s Outdoor 2018 AAC Women’s Cross Country 2019 AAC Women’s Outdoor 2022 AAC Men’s Outdoor 2023 AAC Men’s Outdoor   NCAA ALL-REGION CROSS COUNTRY - 17 2009 Tonya Nero 2010 Tonya Nero 2011 Aliphine Tuliamuk 2012 Aliphine Tuliamuk 2015 Sidney Hirsch 2016 Rebekah Topham 2018 Winny Koskei 2018 Rebekah Topham 2019 Ben Flowers 2019 Winny Koskei 2021 Yazmine Wright 2022 Clayton Duchatschek 2022 Adrian Diaz Lopez 2023 Lucy Ndungu 2025 Elkana Kipruto 2025 Adrian Diaz Lopez 2025 Lucy Ndungu

Hetzendorf is in his 16th year as assistant track and field coach responsible for  the Shocker throwers. Since his arrival in 2000, Hetzendorf has coached 24 MVC champions, 73 all-MVC performers and 17 school record holders.  Under his tutelage, 40 student-athletes have qualified for the Midwest Regional, nine qualified for NCAA competition and three have earned All-American honors. Most recently, Weston Cottrell qualified for the NCAA Championship in the Hammer, while eight qualified for the West Preliminaries. WSU also swept the top three spots in the men's javelin at the MVC Championship. In addition, three athletes under his watch have qualified for the USA Olympic Trials Chandra Andrews in the hammer and Trent Mazanec and Brett Trudo in the javelin. Mazanec set the WSU school record in the javelin and finished eighth at the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.  Another WSU graduate, Allison Berry, was a four-time MVC Champion in the javelin and was named an NCAA All-American under Hetzendorf's tutiledge. During the 2010 outdoor season Hetzendorf's throwers accumulated 29 points on the men's side to help the Shockers win the Missouri Valley Outdoor title.  Capps, Mazanec and Brian Tapia received all-conference honors for their efforts during the meet.  In his first two seasons, two of his athletes, Casey Smith and Brad Johnson, were named the MVC men's "Most Outstanding Field Performers" while Smith was awarded the MVC's "Most Valuable Athlete" two-straight years.  Hetzendorf coached three Shocker student-athletes to MVC titles and one to a NCAA Midwest Regional title in the 2007 outdoor season. DePaul Brewer won the discus title, while Kyle Becker and Erica Evans swept the javelin titles at the MVC championships for the Shockers. At the Midwest Regional, Chandra Andrews threw a career best to win the hammer throw. Two MVC Champions were added to Hetzendorfs list of accomplishments in 2006 after John Goldsmith and Jenna Fast won the outdoor mens and womens javelin competition, a first for Fast and second-straight for Goldsmith. The 2003 outdoor season was very successful with the throws squads winning five of the eight throws events at the conference championship, including placing first, second and third in both the men and womens javelin. Krystal Bowes earned her first MVC Championship in the discus as well as all-conference honors in the javelin. Bowes moved on to the NCAA Championships in 2004 after winning the javelin title at the 04 MVC outdoor meet. Heztendorf has also had a successful athletic career. In the summer of 2007, he competed in the USA Track and Field Championships and placed fourth in the javelin competition with a throw of 243-8. In the summer of 2005, Hetzendorf threw 256-8 to finish second in the USATF Championships, qualifying him for the World Championships. Hetzendorf also representated the United States in the DecaNation competition in Paris, France. He also competed in the 1997, 1999, 2003 and 2005 USATF National Championship and the 2000 and 2004 Olympic trials. Hetzendorfs highest finish was second at the 2005 USATF National Championship. Hetzendorf qualified for the 2004 Olympic trials in the javelin by throwing a distance of 248-5. He was a two-time NCAA Division I All-American in the javelin and two-time Mid-American Conference (MAC) champion at Kent State. Hetzendorf is a former team captain of the MAC championship squad and recorded two top 15 finishes in the javelin at the NCAA outdoor championship, placing seventh in 1997 (218-3) and 14th in 1998 (222-0). Hetzendorf won the javelin title at the Penn Relays with a throw of 232-11 in 1999. Hetzendorf placed second in the USA Track and Field Junior Championship in the javelin (215-7) and also competed at the IAAF World Junior Track and Field Championship in Sydney, Australia in 1996. A native of Turbotville, Pa., Hetzendorf graduated from Kent State in May 2000 with a bachelor of science degree in biology. John Hetzendorf is in his 16th year as assistant track and field coach responsible for  the Shocker throwers.

Yost is in her 10th season as an assistant coach with the Wichita State track and field staff after completing a brilliant career as a Shocker.  She was a five-time Missouri Valley Conference champion, garnering three championships in the long jump and two in the triple jump, and earned multiple all-conference honors in her time as a student-athlete. She was also an NCAA Regional qualifier in the long jump. Her personal bests were 6.00m in the long jump and 12.79m in the triple jump. Yost has coached 19 individual Missouri Valley Conference champions and eight All-Americans in her career as a Shocker assistant coach. In addition, her athletes have earned 55 All-MVC honors.   A Wichita State graduate, she earned a B.S. in  criminal justice in 2003. In 2004, she added a B.S. in liberal arts with an emphasis in sociology. She also completed her masters degree in sport administration from Wichita State in May, 2007.   After her career at WSU, she became a volunteer coach during the 2004-05 season, and a graduate assistant coach in 2005-06. Yost hails from Lecompton, Kan., where she graduated from Perry-Lecompton High School. She was also a six-time 4A State Champion with three long jump titles and three triple jump titles. She also holds the State Record in the Triple Jump  at 391.   Heidi Yost Assistant Coach Heidi Yost is in her 10th season as an assistant coach with the Wichita State track and field staff after completing a brilliant career as a Shocker.  She was a five-time Missouri Valley Conference champion, garnering three championships in the long jump and two in the triple jump, and earned multiple all-conference honors in her time as a student-athlete. She was also an NCAA Regional qualifier in the long jump. Her personal bests were 6.00m in the long jump and 12.79m in the triple jump. Yost has coached 19 individual Missouri Valley Conference champions and eight All-Americans in her career as a Shocker assistant coach. In addition, her athletes have earned 55 All-MVC honors.   A Wichita State graduate, she earned a B.S. in  criminal justice in 2003. In 2004, she added a B.S. in liberal arts with an emphasis in sociology. She also completed her masters degree in sport administration from Wichita State in May, 2007.   After her career at WSU, she became a volunteer coach during the 2004-05 season, and a graduate assistant coach in 2005-06. Yost hails from Lecompton, Kan., where she graduated from Perry-Lecompton High School. She was also a six-time 4A State Champion with three long jump titles and three triple jump titles. She also holds the State Record in the Triple Jump  at 391.  

Wilson enters his 10th year with the WSU pole vaulters as an assistant track and field coach. During his time as coach, five student-athletes have won Missouri Valley Conference titles and six have earned All-America honors. In addition, vaulters have earned 14 All-MVC honors. Most recently Taylor Swanson finished third in the MVC Outdoor Championship for All-Valley honors and qualified for the NCAA West Prelims where she placed 24th. Wilson coached the 2010 and 2012 MVC outdoor pole vault champion Cassie Craig, who was also an all-conference performer during the  2010 indoor season.   In the 2009 MVC Outdoor Championship, WSU pole vaulters racked up 25 points, a WSU record. At the 2008 MVC Outdoor Championships, Beau Morris took the mens title, while Brooke Demo finished second in the womens event. Demo also earned a berth the NCAA Championships, where she placed 13th.  During the 2007 indoor season, Demo and Erica Evans finished second and third, respectively, at the MVC Indoor Championships. Then outdoors, Evans turned in another all-MVC performance, placing second. Evans was one of three WSU women to place in the top-six at the MVC Outdoor Championships with Ashley Rosenbaum taking fourth and Liz Wray placing sixth. On the mens side, Dylan Schmidt also earned all-MVC honors finishing third at the conference meet. Wilson came to Wichita State after having been the pole vault coach for Friends University track and field since the program was revived in 1998. He coached the pole vault squad at Southeast High School from 1998-2002, and had also served as the head pole vault coach for the Wichita public school system. Wilson spent his college years at WSU (1993-97) where he was an all-conference performer, as well as a member of the 1994 Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Championship team. Wilson is originally from Leon, Kan., and a high school graduate of Bluestem High School. Pat Wilson Assistant Coach Pat Wilson enters his 10th year with the WSU pole vaulters as an assistant track and field coach. During his time as coach, five student-athletes have won Missouri Valley Conference titles and six have earned All-America honors. In addition, vaulters have earned 14 All-MVC honors. Most recently Taylor Swanson finished third in the MVC Outdoor Championship for All-Valley honors and qualified for the NCAA West Prelims where she placed 24th. Wilson coached the 2010 and 2012 MVC outdoor pole vault champion Cassie Craig, who was also an all-conference performer during the  2010 indoor season.   In the 2009 MVC Outdoor Championship, WSU pole vaulters racked up 25 points, a WSU record. At the 2008 MVC Outdoor Championships, Beau Morris took the mens title, while Brooke Demo finished second in the womens event. Demo also earned a berth the NCAA Championships, where she placed 13th.  During the 2007 indoor season, Demo and Erica Evans finished second and third, respectively, at the MVC Indoor Championships. Then outdoors, Evans turned in another all-MVC performance, placing second. Evans was one of three WSU women to place in the top-six at the MVC Outdoor Championships with Ashley Rosenbaum taking fourth and Liz Wray placing sixth. On the mens side, Dylan Schmidt also earned all-MVC honors finishing third at the conference meet. Wilson came to Wichita State after having been the pole vault coach for Friends University track and field since the program was revived in 1998. He coached the pole vault squad at Southeast High School from 1998-2002, and had also served as the head pole vault coach for the Wichita public school system. Wilson spent his college years at WSU (1993-97) where he was an all-conference performer, as well as a member of the 1994 Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Championship team. Wilson is originally from Leon, Kan., and a high school graduate of Bluestem High School.

Coaching Achievements - overall/at WSU •208 All-Conference Athletes • 60/43 Individual Conference Champions • 16/5 NCAA All-American Awards • Coaching Experience • Wichita State: Assistant Director of Track and Field/Sprints and Hurdles (2006-Present) • Eastern Brown High School (Ohio): Head Track and Field Coach (2003-06) • Kent State: Assistant Coach (1998-03) • Athletic Achievements • Competed for Kent State University (1994-98) • 1997-98 All-MAC Conference Team • Part of the 4x100m team that set a school record in 1998 (39.93) • Steve Rainbolt: "Coach Wise has been a wonderful leader in our track and field operation on a number of different levels. Wichita State University track and field is a better program every year because of his innovative thinking and contributions. I am very pleased that the administration agreed with me that we should promote him to a position of greater responsibility at this time. I hope that he will remain an integral part of our team for many years to come." John Wise will be in his 19th year with the Shockers entering the 2024-25 season. In 2011, he was promoted to Assistant Director of Track and Field to go along with his duties as Assistant Coach and Recruiting Coordinator. Wise oversees the sprints, hurdles and relays, as well as assisting with the multi-event athletes and handling the program’s recruiting. In addition to his duties as a coach and recruiting coordinator, he serves as the meet director for all home events, including the annual Shocker Pre-State/KT Woodman Classic, one of the largest track and field meets held in the Midwest each year. Since joining the Shockers in the fall of 2006, Wise has helped build the Shocker sprints/hurdles group into one of the best in the Midwest, recruiting several student-athletes at WSU who were Junior National qualifiers, including the 2012-13 class that had 14 qualifiers. He has coached Shocker student-athletes to 43 individual conference titles and 16 All-America honors. Under his tutelage, student-athletes have also earned 182 All-MVC honors. Wise has coached five Olympic Trials qualifiers, and in 2016, he coached U.S Paralympic team member Deja Young, who won Gold Medals in the 100 meters and 200 meters at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio. Young continued her dominance on the big stage winning double gold in the 100m and 200m at the 2017 Paralympic World Championships in London. Prior to coming to Wichita State, Wise spent three seasons as the head coach of his alma mater Eastern Brown High School and won the conference coach of the year award five times in track and twice in cross country for the Warriors. As a high school athlete, he was the 1992 400m state champion in the State of Ohio. As a graduate of Kent State University, Wise competed for the Golden Flashes from 1994-98. While at Kent State, Wise was named to the all-Mid-American Conference team as a sprinter in 1997-98 and was also a part of the MAC Champion, NCAA provisional-qualifying and school-record 4x100m relay team. After graduation in 1998, Wise joined the Kent State track and field staff, serving under current Shocker track and field coach Steve Rainbolt for five seasons. Wise worked specifically with the sprint and hurdle groups, coaching three NCAA qualifiers and athletes who won 12 MAC championships. During his tenure at Kent State, the Golden Flashes won three MAC championship team titles. Wise graduated in 1998 from Kent State with a degree in business management and information systems with an emphasis in psychology.  

 Coaching Achievements - overall/at WSU 443/296 Individual Conference Titles • 130/61 NCAA Championship Qualifiers • 113/80 NCAA All-American awards • 36/35 Conference Championship Teams • 29/28x Conference Indoor/Outdoor Coach of the Year • 7/6x Mondo/USTCA/USTFCCCA Regional Coach of the Year after 2024 outdoor season Coaching Experience • Wichita State: Director of cross country/track and field (2000-Present) • Kent State: Head Coach (1995-2000) • Nebraska: Assistant Coach (1983-84, 1989-95) • 2017 Thorpe Cup Men's Decathlon Assistant Coach • 2016 Thorpe Cup Men's Decathlon Head Coach • 2014 USATF Pan American Cup Decathlon Team Coach • Athletic Achievements • 1980 NCAA All-American (Decathlon) • 1980 U.S. Olympic Trials Qualifier (Decathlon) • 1977 Big Eight Conference Indoor High Jump Champion • NCAA National Championship record-setter in decathlon high jump 2.15m/7-0.75 • Rainbolt's Personal Statement “Being a member of the WSU Track and Field program is an honor. Young men and women can make a dream come true by carrying out their athletic endeavors in a uniform with ‘Wichita State University’ on their chest. For me it is extremely meaningful life work to serve as the coach of this wonderful program.” Steve Rainbolt, Wichita State’s Director of Track & Field and Cross Country, will be in his 25th season at the helm entering the 2024-25 season. During his time at Wichita State, the Shockers have won 35 conference team titles, claimed 296 individual conference titles, produced 153 NCAA qualifiers and earned 80 All-American awards. Rainbolt has been named Midwest Region Coach of the Year eight times while at Wichita State and is a 28-time conference  coach of the year for the Shockers. 2023-24: Destiny Masters added four All-America honors to her repertoire, earning First Team recognition in the pentathlon and Second Team honors in the indoor and outdoor high jump and the heptathlon. Brady Palen was named First Team All-American with an eighth-place finish in the outdoor high jump, and Lucy Ndungu qualified to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 10,000 meters. Masters and Palen swept the AAC indoor high jump titles, and Palen went on to win the outdoor title. Adria Navajon swept the AAC multi-event competitions, winning the indoor heptathlon and outdoor decathlon titles. Both Shocker teams finished fifth at the AAC Indoor Championships and fourth at the AAC Outdoor Championships. 2022-23: The men's team repeated as AAC Outdoor Champions, upsetting Houston for the second-consecutive year. Brady Palen qualified to both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships, earning first team All-American honors indoor (7th) and honorable mention All-America status outdoor (18th). Destiny Masters was named second team All-American in the high jump with her 16-place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and won the AAC heptathlon title. 2021-22: Yazmine Wright kept the women's cross country individual title at Wichita State, and the men's cross country team placed the most runners (four) on the all-conference team since 1975. Wright was named AAC Runner of the Year and earned all-region honors. Michael Bryan added two All-America honors to his resume, placing 14th in the weight throw at the NCAA Indoor Championships and fifth in the hammer at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Taran Taylor joined Bryan on the podium at the outdoor championships, placing fourth in the javelin. Both men set new school records, recorded the highest-ever NCAA finishes by Shockers in their events and became First Team All-Americans. The men's team took down Houston at the AAC Outdoor Championships to claim the program's first men's team title since joining the conference. Michael Bryan (hammer), Taran Taylor (javelin), Matt Everett (discus), Adria Navajon (decathlon) and Clayton Duchatschek (3k steeplechase) all won individual titles to contribute to the team's success. Navajon was named AAC Freshman of the Year after scoring 15 points for the Shockers, and Taylor was named Most Outstanding Field Performer. Bryan (weight) and Navajon (heptathlon) also won indoor titles this season with Bryan being named the indoor Most Outstanding Field Performer after breaking his own school record. Entering the 2020-21 season, his program has produced 72 All-American honors, 115 NCAA national qualifiers, and 251 conference champions during his time at Wichita State. Student athletes in the program have also set 160 school records. Before the 2019-20 year was cut short due to the coronavirus outbreak, Rainbolt’s Shockers had bright spots during the cross country and indoor track seasons. Overall, the Shockers saw four individual conference championships. At the AAC Indoor Championships, Rainbolt’s athletes grabbed seven all-conference honors. Winny Koskei defended her individual cross country title, winning the conference with teammate Rebekah Topham behind her as the runner-up. Topham took home her second consecutive AAC Indoor MVP award, scoring 21 team points and winning two individual titles (Mile, 3,000 Meters). The men’s Distance Medley Relay team of Jace Coppoc, Jed Helker, Adam Moore and Josh Cable won their own individual title at the AAC Indoor Championships. Sidney Sapp (High Jump), Joseph Holthusen (60-Meter Hurdles), Winny Koskei (5,000 Meters) and Weston Lewis (High Jump) also earned all-conference honors at the AAC Indoor Championships. In its second year in the American Athletic Conference, Rainbolt's program began to make its presence felt in the AAC. His program recorded 27 all-conference honors, 10 individual conference champions all while winning women's team titles in cross country and women's outdoor track and field. Rainbolt and his staff was named The American's Women's Outdoor Coaching Staff of the Year Award, his 31st of his career and first in The American. Rainbolt's athletes earned four All-American honors, Winny Koskei in cross country, Ben Johnson in indoor and outdoor track and field, Rebekah Topham and Aaron True in outdoor track and field. Working closely with the multi-event athletes, Johnson became the fourth All-American decathlete in the program's history, all coming under Rainbolt. Rainbolt coached Johnson to an American Athletic Conference title in the indoor heptathlon setting a conference meet record with 5,705 points. During the outdoor season Rainbolt's multi-athletes dominated scoring 45 points, 24 points on the women's side and 21 on the men's, including a sweep in the women's heptathlon. As Kendra Henry defended her American Athletic Conference title winning for a second consecutive season, while Ben Johnson won the men's decathlon title. The 2018 season was a transition year for the Shockers as Wichita State joined The American Athletic Conference after competing in the Missouri Valley Conference for 73 years. In his first year coaching in The American Athletic Conference, Rainbolt's athletes compiled 23 all-conference honors, seven individual conference championships, four athlete-of-the week awards, three All-American honors and two conference most outstanding awards. Nationally he led the men's team to a No. 21 ranking in the USTFCCCA poll, the highest in the program's history. Rainbolt's decathlon group was awarded the 2018 Webb Cup in recognition for both decathlon quality and quantity, the decathlon group was ranked No.1 in the nation for six consecutive weeks in the USTFCCCA event squad rankings. Rainbolt coached Hunter Veith, the Shockers' most-decorated decathlete, to four All-American honors, including a second place finish in the heptathlon at 2018 NCAA Indoor National Championships. Veith finished his career under Rainbolt as an eight-time All-Conference athlete, including five individual conference titles in the Missouri Valley and as the school's record holder in the heptathlon (6,090) and decathlon (8,046). Since Rainbolt’s arrival at Wichita State, he has been named the Missouri Valley Conference’s men’s and women’s Indoor and/or Outdoor Coach of the Year 30 times, and his teams have won 31 MVC Championships, most recently the men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor titles in 2017. In 2017, a year the Shockers won the Men’s and Women’s Indoor and Outdoor Missouri Valley Conference championship, the program also matched a school record qualifying 25 athletes to the NCAA West Preliminaries. He coached four multi-athletes to the 2017 NCAA Outdoor National Championships and three to the 2017 NCAA Indoor National Championships, including Hunter Veith to a sixth place finish in the decathlon at the 2017 NCAA Outdoor National Championship meet.   Rainbolt ended Wichita State’s Missouri Valley Conference era with a modern era MVC record 16-year streak winning at least one men’s or women’s cross country title, men’s or women’s indoor title or men’s or women’s outdoor title. His program amassed a total 25 championships during the 16-year streak.   In 2013, the WSU Women’s Outdoor Track & Field team had a school-record 16th place finish. 2005-06: Rainbolt’s women’s track and field program hit a high note in 2006, winning the program’s first-ever Triple Crown by capturing the MVC cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field championships. The women’s indoor title was also a first for the program. Rainbolt earned his first MVC Women’s Indoor Coach of the Year award and claimed his third-straight MVC Women’s Outdoor Coach of the Year award. All-American Desiraye Osburn led the way for the women, running away with three MVC indoor titles and three MVC outdoor titles. Osburn, along with Jackie Brown and Linda Feldberga, qualified to the NCAA Indoor Championships, where Osburn earned All-America recognition in the mile with an eighth-place finish. Five Shocker women, Feldberga, Osburn, Tasha Gallegos, Sarah Becker and Brown, qualified to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Brown took third in the pole vault, and Osburn finished fourth in the 5,000 meters to claim All-America honors, and the women placed 23rd as a team. 2004-05: Rainbolt’s Shockers won their second-straight MVC Women’s Outdoor Championship, and the Wichita State women finished the season ranked 12th in the USTCA team power rankings, an all-time high finish for a Wichita State team and the highest finish among mid-major teams in 2005. Rainbolt won another MVC Women’s Outdoor Coach of the Year award, and the Shockers had 14 conference champions, six NCAA qualifiers and one All-American. Desiraye Osburn finished seventh in the 5,000 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships to earn All-America recognition after winning the MVC indoor mile and outdoor 1500 meters. 2003-04: The men’s outdoor team continued its dominance of the MVC, winning its third-straight team title, and Rainbolt was named the MVC Men’s Outdoor Coach of the Year for the third time. The women’s team gave the Shockers the sweep, winning its first-ever MVC Outdoor Championships team title earning Rainbolt his first MVC Women’s Outdoor Coach of the Year award as well as the Mondo/USTCA Midwest District Women’s Coach of the Year award. During the 2003-04 season, the men’s and women’s teams combined to produce one All-American, seven national qualifiers and 16 conference champions. Shannon Armstrong led the men’s team with five conference titles, winning the indoor 60 meters and outdoor 100 meters, 200 meters, 110-meter hurdles and 4x100-meter relay. He was named the MVC Men’s Outdoor Championship Most Outstanding Track Athlete, while Paul Speer claimed the MVC Men’s Outdoor Most Outstanding Field Athlete award with a decathlon win and a new conference record. Armstrong went on to claim All-America recognition with a seventh-place finish in the 110-meter hurdles at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. 2002-03: Rainbolt’s men’s team claimed their second-straight MVC Outdoor Championship making Rainbolt the back-to-back MVC Men’s Outdoor Coach of the Year. The Shocker men and women combined for 13 MVC individual titles between the indoor and outdoor seasons, and seven athletes and one relay qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Sacramento, Calif. Three claimed All-America honors with Randy Lewis snagging his third with a fifth-place performance in the long jump at the NCAA Indoor Championships, Jens Lukoschat becoming Rainbolt’s first decathlon All-American, finishing seventh at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, and Allison Berry taking ninth in the javelin at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. 2001-02: In just his second season at the helm, Rainbolt was named the 2002 Mondo/USTCA Midwest Regional Men’s Outdoor Coach of the Year and the MVC Men’s Outdoor Coach of the Year after his men’s team won its first title since 1994 and fourth-ever in program history. At the end of the outdoor season, the men were ranked 27th in the USTCA power rankings, and the women were ranked 41st. The women were the MVC Outdoor Runners-Up and took third indoor, while the men finished fourth indoor. The Shockers swept the horizontal jumps at the indoor championships with future Olympian Ineta Radevica winning the women’s long jump and triple jump and future Olympian Randy Lewis winning the men’s long jump and triple jump, and Radevica went on to sweep the outdoor titles as well, two of 11 outdoor event crowns for Wichita State. The Shockers swept the MVC Championship Most Outstanding Field Athlete awards with Lewis and Radevica winning the indoor accolades and Casey Smith and Heidi Yost claiming the outdoor awards. Radevica became a three-time NCAA All-American as the 2002 outdoor long jump runner-up and placing fourth in the indoor triple jump and sixth in the indoor long jump. She also qualified to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the long jump, taking 10th. Lewis became a two-time All-American taking seventh in the NCAA indoor long jump and finishing as the runner-up at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. 2000-01: During his first season at Wichita State, the program produced one All-American, two MVC Most Outstanding Performers and 11 MVC scholar-athletes. Rainbolt’s men’s and women’s teams both placed fifth at the 2001 MVC Indoor Championships and the Shockers took home four event titles as Heidi Yost swept the horizontal jumps, Mellanee Welty won the pole vault, future Olympian Viktors Lacis won the 800 meters, and the 4x400-meter relay team of Bruce Swan, Derrick Powell, Lacis, and Solomon Birir claimed the gold. At the 2001 MVC Outdoor Championships, the men’s team placed third, and the women’s team took sixth, winning five event titles. Again, Yost swept the horizontal jumps, and Viktors Lacis won the 400 meters and 440-yard hurdles, while Allison Berry won the javelin. Yost was named the MVC Indoor and Outdoor Championships Most Outstanding Field Athlete, and Lacis was named the MVC Outdoor Championships Most Outstanding Track Athlete. Lacis went on to finish third in the 400-meter hurdles at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, become Rainbolt’s first Wichita State All-American.   Prior to Wichita State: Hired on Aug. 22, 2000, Rainbolt came to Wichita State after five years as the director of Kent State’s men’s and women’s track and field and cross country teams and seven years prior as an assistant coach at Nebraska where he was responsible for the men’s and women’s sprints, hurdles, relays and multi-events from 1989-95 and also coached the jumpers in 1984.. The Golden Flashes won 64 individual conference titles and earned 20 All-America certificates during his five-year tenure at Kent State. During his time at Nebraska, the men’s and women’s teams won a total of 20 Big Eight team titles, one NCAA women’s indoor championship, one women’s national dual-meet championship, and two men’s national dual-meet championships. Cornhuskers under his supervision earned 75 NCAA All-American awards, two NCAA women’s 400-meter titles, one NCAA women’s 4x400-meter relay championship, and three NCAA runner-up finishes. At the 1994 NCAA Indoor Championships, Rainbolt’s athletes collected 13 All-America certificates. Rainbolt also served as a staff member at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. for the junior Elite Decathlon Training staff from 1991-93 and again in 1998.   1999-2000 at Kent State: Rainbolt’s men and women finished first and second, respectively, at the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Outdoor Championships. For his efforts, he was named MAC Outdoor Men’s Coach of the Year and Great Lakes Region Outdoor Men’s Coach of the Year.   1998-99 at Kent State: During the 1000 outdoor season, Kent State finished 19th (women) and 21st (men) in the national United States Track Coaches Association power ran kings. He coached Bobby Cruse to two MAC Championship records, the Most Valuable Performer award at the MAC outdoor meet and the fastest collegiate 200-meter time of the year (19.83).   1997-98 at Kent State: In 1998, Rainbolt led the men’s and women’s squads to runner-up finishes at both the MAC Indoor and Outdoor Championships. Kent State athletes won 15 MAC titles and were named All-American nine times. One of Rainbolt’s student-athletes (Cruse) was the top freshman in the country over 200 meters while another (Brendon Falconer) was the highest-finishing American in the decathlon (third) at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.   1996-97 at Kent State: Rainbolt directed the Golden Flash men’s and women’s teams to second-place finishes at the 1997 MAC Indoor Championships. The women also captured second at the MAC Outdoor Championships, while the men finished fourth.   As a student-athlete at Kansas: A decathlete at the University of Kansas, Rainbolt was the NCAA Championships record setter in the decathlon high jump (7’0.75”) and held a personal best of 7’2” in the event. He was the 1977 Big Eight indoor high jump champion, a 1980 NCAA All-American in the decathlon, and he competed at the 1980 U.S. Olympic Trials in the decathlon.   Education: Rainbolt earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education with an emphasis in coaching from Kansas and a master’s degree in educational administration from Nebraska.   Personal: Rainbolt and his wife, Kelly, reside in Wichita. Rainbolt has four children: Christopher, Anna and Alyssa (twins), and late son Kyle; a daughter-in-law, Reagan, and two grandchildren, Channing and Cullen. Rainbolt’s Year-by-Year: 2023 AAC Outdoor Men's Coach of the Year 2022 AAC Outdoor Men's Coach of the Year 2019 AAC Outdoor Women's COY 2017 MVC Indoor Men’s and Women’s, Outdoor Men’s and Women’s COY 2017 USTFCCCA Midwest Region Indoor Women's COY 2016 MVC Indoor Men's, Outdoor Men's and Women's COY 2015 MVC Outdoor Women's COY 2014 MVC Outdoor Women's COY 2013 MVC Indoor Women's COY 2012 MVC Outdoor Women's COY 2012 USTFCCCA Midwest Region Outdoor Men’s COY 2011 USTFCCCA Midwest Region Outdoor Women’s COY 2011 MVC Indoor & Outdoor Women’s COY 2010 MVC Indoor & Outdoor Men’s, Indoor Women's COY 2007 MVC Indoor & Outdoor Women's COY 2006 MVC Indoor & Outdoor Women's COY 2006 USTFCCCA Midwest Region Indoor Women's COY 2005 MVC Outdoor Women’s COY 2004 MVC Outdoor Men’s and Women's COY 2004 Mondo/USTCA Midwest Region COY 2003 MVC Outdoor Men’s COY 2002 MVC Outdoor Men’s COY 2002 Mondo/USTCA Midwest Region COY Greater Wichita Area "Gene Stephenson Coach-of-the-Year" Award 2000 MAC Outdoor Men’s COY (at Kent St.) 2000 Great Lakes Region Men’s Outdoor COY (at Kent St.) Summarized: 7x Regional Coach of the Year 4x USTFCCCA Midwest Region Coach of the Year - 2006, 17 Indoor Women's, 2011 Outdoor Women's, 2012 Outdoor Men's 2x Mondo/USTCA Midwest Region Coach of the Year - 2002, 04 Great Lakes Region Outdoor Men's Coach of the Year (at Kent St.) - 2000 29x Conference Coach of the Year AAC Outdoor Men's Coach of the Year - 2022, 23 AAC Outdoor Women's Coach of the Year - 2019 3x MVC Indoor Men's Coach of the Year - 2010, 16, 17,  6x MVC Indoor Women's Coach of the Year -2006, 07, 10, 11, 13, 17 6x MVC Outdoor Men's Coach of the Year - 2002, 03, 04, 10, 16, 17 10x MVC Outdoor Women's Coach of the Year - 2004, 05, 06, 07, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17 MAC Outdoor Men's Coach of the Year (at Kent St.) - 2000 after 2024 outdoor season

Patton graduated in December, 2014, from WSU with a bachelors degree in Finance. He was a student manager for the Mens and Womens Track & Field programs during the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons. As a student manger, Patton coordinated and organized all of the teams practice and meet film, coordinated all volunteers for home track meets, assisted coaches in management of apparel, and helped with other administrative duties. He spent two years at Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kan., on an academic scholarship and received his Associate's Degree in Liberal Arts. He was a member of Phi Beta Lambda business organization and worked in the on-campus call center. Originally from Wamego, Kan., Patton competed in cross country and track all four years in high school, and medaled at the 4A State Meet in 2008 and 2010 in the 4x800 relay.  He is the son of Wamego High School head Cross Country and Track coach, Rick Patton. Rick Patton has been coaching for more than 30 years and has accumulated seven KSHSAA State 4A cross country titles.  Ryan Patton is in his second year as Director of Operations for the Wichita State Track & Field programs. His responsibilities include coordination of team travel arrangements, budget oversight, planning of the annual winter banquet, meet management, and other administrative duties. Patton graduated in December, 2014, from WSU with a bachelors degree in Finance. He was a student manager for the Mens and Womens Track & Field programs during the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons. As a student manger, Patton coordinated and organized all of the teams practice and meet film, coordinated all volunteers for home track meets, assisted coaches in management of apparel, and helped with other administrative duties. He spent two years at Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kan., on an academic scholarship and received his Associate's Degree in Liberal Arts. He was a member of Phi Beta Lambda business organization and worked in the on-campus call center. Originally from Wamego, Kan., Patton competed in cross country and track all four years in high school, and medaled at the 4A State Meet in 2008 and 2010 in the 4x800 relay.  He is the son of Wamego High School head Cross Country and Track coach, Rick Patton. Rick Patton has been coaching for more than 30 years and has accumulated seven KSHSAA State 4A cross country titles.