Micah VanDenend has been selected as the new head women's and men's track and cross country coach at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. He was selected from nearly 100 inquiries from around the nation. VanDenend's term will begin immediately.
“We are very excited to get someone with Micah's energy and passion for the sport to head our cross country and track programs,” commented UW-Parkside interim athletic director Tamie Falk-Day. “Micah has competed against the best as a Big 10 student-athlete. Having the experience of being involved as an assistant coach with two different Big 10 programs has given him a solid coaching philosophy to continue our strong legacy of cross country runners and to grow our track program.”
VanDenend, originally from Glen Ellyn, Illinois, succeeds Mike DeWitt, who coached at Parkside for the last 29 years.
“Parkside certainly presents a lot of challenges, but all great jobs come with challenges that need to be overcome,” said VanDenend. “Wisconsin has great depth in track and cross country at the high school level which gives me a great recruiting pool. We have great facilities with a nationally renowned cross country course and the best indoor track facility in the state.”
The new Ranger coach comes to UWP after a one year stint as the Director of Track and Field Operations at the University of Iowa. His initial coaching experience came at the University of Wisconsin under cross country coach Mick Byrne and track coach Ed Nuttycombe. At Wisconsin, VanDenend helped the Badger men's track team to the 2008 Big 10 title and a fourth place finish in NCAA Division I.
As an athlete, VanDenend starred at Iowa, where he was the track team captain and two-time national qualifier. He was the Big 10 champion in the 10,000-meter run and holds the Hawkeye all-time record in the 3,000 and 5,000-meter indoor and the 5,000-meter outdoor event. He also captained the Iowa cross country squad, was a three-time national qualifier and a one-time regional champion.
“We have a number of talented and hard working athletes in the program at Parkside right now,” noted VanDenend. “My goal is to create a culture on the team where all our athletes are committed to a higher cause than themselves.”
VanDenend added he has a goal of building a “complete” track team at UW-Parkside.
UW-Parkside will kick-off the cross country season when it hosts the annual Midwest Invite on the Wayne E. Dannehl National Cross Country Course Saturday, Sept. 11.
“There is a lot of work to be done, but we are certainly up to the challenge,” added the new coach.
