FARGO,
N.D. – Stevie Keller has been named the head women’s track & field
and cross country coach at North Dakota State University, NDSU athletic
director Matt Larsen announced Monday, Nov. 3. Keller replaces Ryun
Godfrey, who was hired by Kansas State University on Sept. 23 after 15
years as the head coach of the Bison.
Keller becomes the fourth head coach in the history of the program.
Keller
had been serving as NDSU’s interim head coach since Sept. 25. He
recently completed his 14th year on the Bison coaching staff, serving
the last six years as the associate head coach of women’s and men’s
track & field since being promoted in August 2008. Keller began his
coaching career at NDSU as a graduate assistant in 2000.
“Stevie has
played such an integral role in the program’s success during his tenure
at NDSU,” Larsen said. “I am confident that as he transitions to the
head coaching role, he will build upon the already rich tradition and
history of Bison track and field. I look forward to working closely
with Stevie in implementing his vision and plan for the women’s
program.”
Keller
has directed the Bison to unprecedented success in the multi-events,
hurdles and pole vault during his tenure. Since the Bison gained full
NCAA Division I status in 2008, his student-athletes have earned 191
All-Summit League honors and 68 Summit League titles in just seven
seasons.
Keller
has mentored more Division I All-Americans than any coach in NDSU
history, coaching seven Bison athletes to a combined 12 All-America
honors since 2009, including Whitney Carlson, Leslie Brost, Ashley
Heinze, Deborah John and Andy Lillejord in the last four seasons. Brost
placed fourth in the pole vault at the 2012 NCAA Indoor Championships,
and Carlson claimed fifth in the heptathlon at the 2011 NCAA Outdoor
Championships.
With
Keller on the NDSU staff, the Bison women have earned the USTFCCCA
All-Academic Team Award for nine consecutive seasons, including 3.58 and
3.49 cumulative grade point averages to rank among the nation’s best in
the last two years.
“I
am very pleased that Stevie will lead the women’s cross country and
track and field programs,” said NDSU director of women’s athletics Lynn
Dorn. “As the interim head coach, Stevie demonstrated all of the
qualities of leadership necessary to continue the incredible success of
our program. Without question, he will continue recruiting outstanding
women student-athletes as he leads the program.”
“Stevie’s
coaching pedigree is exceptional as he has been mentored by (NDSU men’s
track and field head coach) Don Larson and former head women’s coach
Ryun Godfrey – both elite coaches. Under Coach Keller the program will
remain rich with the tradition of success.”
Keller
also owns coaching experience on the national and international levels.
In 2010 and 2011, he coached Brost, Carlson and Heather Zander at the
USATF Championships, and Brost placed ninth at the 2012 U.S. Olympic
Trials as the top collegiate finisher in the event. In 2008, Keller
served as an assistant coach for Team USA in the Thorpe Cup decathlon
and guided Weston Leutz to a 10th-place finish at the Junior World
Championships in the decathlon.
Prior
to NDSU’s move to Division I, Keller coached 10 athletes to 28 NCAA
Division II All-American awards, including Nate Schmidt who won two NCAA
Division II national championships in the decathlon.
As
an athlete at NDSU, Keller was a two-time North Central Conference
champion and a Division II All-American in the decathlon. Keller also
competed at Montana State University where he was a Big Sky Conference
champion and Division I All-American in the decathlon. He competed in
the 2004 Olympic Trials in the decathlon.
Keller
will be leading a program that has won three straight Summit League
‘Triple Crowns’, sweeping the league’s cross country, indoor and outdoor
titles in each of the last three years. The Bison have won all 14
Summit League track and field team titles since joining the league
prior to the 2008 season.
A
native of Harvey, N.D., Keller and his wife, Erin, a former NDSU
distance runner, have one son, Kyson, and one daughter, Aspyn.
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