 Dave
Osanitsch, Head Coach
Fifth Year
Alma Mater: Shippensburg
'96
Office: 717-477-1284
E-mail: dmosan@ship.edu
After four years as an assistant coach,
Dave Osanitsch was named as the new head coach of the men's and women's
track and field teams at Shippensburg University on July 11, 2005,
succeeding current Shippensburg men's and women's cross country head
coach Steve Spence. In addition to being the head coach of the track
and field teams, Osanitsch will continue to be an assistant under
Spence with the cross country programs. His dedication to pride,
team and tradition can be seen throughout the Shippensburg program.
Osanitsch will begin his tenth year as
a track and field coach at the college level in the 2006-07 season.
In his first season as head coach of the track and field programs, he led the
Red Raiders to a second consecutive PSAC Indoor Championship and a fourth-straight
PSAC Outdoor Championship.
In one season as head coach, Osanitsch earned four coach of the year awards.
He was named PSAC Indoor and PSAC Outdoor Coach of the Year, as well as indoor
and outdoor United States Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA)
NCAA Division II men’s East Region Coach of the Year.
He began coaching at his alma mater in 2002 as an assistant coach in track and
field, working primarily with the jumpers and multi-event athletes, a role he
will continue as the head coach. Since his arrival at Shippensburg, the jumps
squad has garnered 18 individual Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC)
championship and All-conference honors. Osanitsch has also produced 15 NCAA Division
II Championship provisional qualifiers and nine All-Americans.
A 1996 graduate of Shippensburg with a bachelor of science degree in criminal
justice, Osanitsch was a five-time NCAA Division II Championship qualifier in
the 55-meter and 110-meter hurdles. He was a two-time PSAC indoor champion in
the 110-meter hurdles in 1993 and 1995 as well as a two-time ECAC indoor champion
in the 55-meter hurdles. In 1993 and 1995, Osanitsch was a member of both the
PSAC and ECAC outdoor track and field championship teams.
Osanitsch was also an All-American in the 55-meter hurdles in indoor
track. In 1994, he finished sixth at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field
Championships before placing seventh as a senior in 1996. Osanitsch currently
holds the school record in the indoor 55-meter hurdles with a time of 7.49 seconds,
a mark that is also the conference’s all-time record.
Following graduation, Osanitsch gained new success as an assitant coach at nearby
Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa. Osanitsch was instrumental in producing numerous
Centennial Conference qualifiers, placewinners, champions and an NCAA Division
III All-American. The Devils became a Centennial Conference powerhouse during
his four seasons, winning four women’s championships, two each in indoor
and outdoor. In 1998, the men’s outdoor track and field team had its highest
ever finish, placing second while in 1999, the men’s indoor team also had
its highest-ever finish, taking second-place.
Osanitsch, along with his wife Julie and daughter Madison, reside in Shippensburg.
 Steve Spence
Assistant Coach
Alma Mater: Shippensburg '85
Experience: 8th year
Office Phone: 717-477-1284
E-mail: saspen@ship.edu
Former 1992 Olympic marathoner and 1991
World Championships marathon bronze medalist Steve Spence enters
his eighth year as the head coach of the men's and women's cross
country teams at Shippensburg University in 2005. In addition, he
will also serve as an assistant coach with the men's and women's
track and field teams after having spent the last seven seasons as
the head coach.
Spence made the decision to step down
as track and field coach on July 11, 2005 so that he could focus
on a prominent cross country country program. As a result, long-time
assistant coach and 1996 Shippensburg graduate Dave Osanitsch was
promoted to be the head coach of the track and field teams.
RETURNING TO HIS ALMA MATER
A 1985 graduate of Shippensburg with a
bachelor of science degree in business administration, Spence made
a name for himself as a member of the cross country and track and
field teams, where he was a seven-time NCAA Division II All-American.
He spent 10 years as a volunteer coach at the University while he
was running competitively and was one of the top American road racers.
Prior to the 1997 spring season, Spence was promoted to full-time
assistant before officially being named as the head coach of both
cross country and track and field on October 15, 1997, succeeding
Robert Walker.
In his eight seasons as the head coach
of both programs, Spence has been named Pennsylvania State Athletic
Conference (PSAC) Coach of the Year six times. He was named conference
coach of the year in men's cross country in 2001, men's indoor track
and field in 2003 and 2005, men's outdoor track and field in 2003
and 2004 and in women's outdoor track and field in 2005. He has also
been awarded with the NCAA Division II East Regional Men's Track
and Field Coach of the Year honors in 2003, 2004 and 2005.
Under Spence's tutelage, Shippensburg
has captured three PSAC championships in men's outdoor track and
field and one in indoor along with one PSAC and NCAA Division II
East Region championship in women's cross country in 1997. The programs
have also garnered 10 conference runner-up honors as well, eight
in track and field and two in cross country. In 2005, Spence became
the first men's track and field coach in conference history to win
both the indoor and outdoor championships in the same season.
He has also been instrumental in the development
of 28 All-Americans in track and field, 16 women and 12 men, while
mentoring two All-Americans in women's cross country.
GOING GLOBAL
Following graduation in 1985, Spence pursued
a career as a distance runner where he began by making his mark on
the international scene. He made his first top-10 listing in the
Runner's World Road Race rankings in 1988 when he finished third
at the end of the season behind Road Runners Club of America (RRCA)
Hall of Fame members Mark Curp and Jon Sinclair. For the next four
years, Runner's World ranked Spence first in 1989 and 1990, second
in 1991 and third in 1992.
He won the 1990 Columbus Marathon in his
personal record of 2:12.17, qualifying him for the 1991 World Championships
in Tokyo, Japan. The third-place finish was the first distance medal
for the United States in international competition since Frank Shorter
in 1976. Earlier in 1991, Spence captured the Olympic Development
10,000 meters at the Penn Relays and in 1992, he won the Olympic
Trials Marathon and was a member of the 1992 Olympic team. At the
1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, he finished 12th in the
men's marathon despite battling the flu, marking yet again, the best
US Olympic marathon finish place since Shorter's 1976 run.
Between college and 1993, Spence was a
member of four international teams, including the 1991 World Championships,
1992 Olympics, 1989 NYC Ekiden Relay and 1991 Berlin, Germnay Ekiden
Relay.
Spence was the recipient of the Robert
DeCelle Award, given by USA Track & Field (USATF) to the Outstanding
Long Distance Runner in the nation, three consecutive years from
1989-91. He received the USATF Glenn Cunningham Award in 1991 as
the Outstanding Runner in the US, 800 meters and up and was the Road
Racing Club of America's Road Runner of the Year from 1989-92.
At the end of 1997, Spence officially
retired. His contributions to the sport of distance running have
been numerous and many consider him to be one of the runners responsible
for the re-emergence of distance running in the United States.
MASTER OF HIS CRAFT
Since turning 40, Spence is still competitive
and has recorded some outstanding masters performances despite his
coaching duties preventing extensive travel for masters competition.
In 2003, he set the American Master's national record for five miles
with a time of 23:47, breaking the 1988 record held by Bill Rodgers.
In September, 2004, at the Jefferson Hospital Philadelphia Distance
Run, he won the masters division in 1:06.21, beating Andrew Masai
and Abraham Limo, two top-ranked master from Kenya, by more than
30 seconds.
Spence has a pending American Master's
record for 10,000 meters on the track, with a time of 30:18.16.
In 2003, Spence was inducted into the
NCAA Division II Coaches Association Cross Country Hall of Fame and
in the spring of 2005, was voted into the RRCA Hall of Fame along
with Keith Brantly.
LEADER OF THE SHIP
Spence is a Central Pennsylvania native
from Elizabethtown. He came to Shippensburg University after graduating
from Lower Dauphin High School in Hummelstown. As a student-athlete,
he earned All-American honors in the 5,000 meters four years in a
row in outdoor track and one year in indoor track while also receiving
All-America honors twice in cross country.
Spence was PSAC champion in the 1,500
meters in 1982 and 1984, the 5,000 meters in 1982 and 1985 and the
10,000 meters in 1985. Two of his All-America honors in the 5,000
meters, outdoor in 1984 and indoor in 1985, were NCAA Division II
national championships. In 1982 and 1985, Spence was voted Outstanding
Track Athlete in the conference by the coaches. Currently, he still
holds four school records in the 3,000 and 5,000 meters as well as
the 1-mile and 2-mile runs while holding the outdoor record in the
5,000 meters.
At Lower Dauphin, Spence won the 1980
Pennsylvania Intercollegiate Athletic Association (PIAA) Class AAA
1,600-meter championship in a then-state record of 4:12. He also
won the 1980 PIAA state championship in the mile run with a state
record time and was also the 1980 PIAA District 3 championship and
record holder for both the 1-mile and 2-mile runs.
Spence is committed to creating individualized
training programs in order to help each student-athlete reach their
goals and achieve their potential. He and his wife Kirsten have three
daughters, Ne'ely, Reynah and Margeaux and one son, Eli. The family
lives in Shippensburg.
 Kurt Dunkel
Assistant Coach - Throws
Alma Mater: Shippensburg '98
Experience: 9th year
The 2006-07 season will mark Dunkel's ninth year
as assistant coach at Shippensburg after receiving his undergraduate
degree from Shippensburg in 1998. As a student-athlete, Dunkel
was a team captain and a two-time All-American in the javelin,
finishing second at the NCAA Championships in both 1997 and 1998.
He has had eight articles published in the world’s only throws-based
publication, The Long and Strong Throwers Journal.
Since 1998, the
throwers have consistently contributed to the success of both the
women’s and men’s teams under Dunkel's guidance. Over
the past eight seasons, he has coached 95 conference placewinners,
15 conference champions, 35
NCAA qualifiers, nine All-Americans, 10 school record holders,
three conference championship record holders and one Academic All-American.
More importantly, the throwers have helped to return
Shippensburg’s
track and field programs to a dominant position in the PSAC while
showing they can compete with the very best in NCAA Division II.
Each year, Ship’s throwers are ranked as one of the top throws
programs in the entirety of Division II according to the Power
Rankings System, and at the 2006 PSAC Championships, Ship's throwers
won every throwing event and scored 66 points toward the championship
effort.
Dunkel also received his master’s degree from Shippensburg
and currently works at the Shippensburg University Counseling Center.
He resides in Shippensburg.
 Doug Knol
Assistant Coach - Sprints/Hurdles and Relays
Alma Mater: Shippensburg
'91
Experience: 14th year
Knol enters his 14th years as the sprints and hurdles
coach for Shippensburg in 2006-07. His
squad has been a
pillar of consistency
over the years and their tenacity is well
known around the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC).
A 1991 Shippensburg
graduate, Knol was a four-time conference qualifier in his specialty event,
the 400-meter intermediate hurdles. During his junior and senior seasons, the
Red
Raiders
won conference
titles
beginning a string of four consecutive PSAC championships. Knol is well
known for his development of national caliber 400 intermediate hurdlers.
Since Knol joined the staff in 1993, his athletes have won
22 individual PSAC championships along with eight relay championships and
numerous All-PSAC honors. He has coached two All-Americans and has
had
10 NCAA qualifiers. Knol
represents the solid foundation of consistency to
excellence at Shippensburg with his many years of service.
Knol has a master’s degree in applied mathematics from
the University of Delaware and is a teacher in the
Big Spring School District.
 Don Serbo
Assistant Volunteer Coach - Pole Vault
Alma Mater: Shippensburg
'99
Experience: 4th year
Serbo will
be entering his
fourth year as the
vault coach at
Shippensburg
in 2006-07.
Under his guidance,
the vault has once
again become a
strong force for the Raider track and field teams.
Serbo’s athletes have achieved two school records
and have garnered four PSAC placewinners.
 Ed Boardman
Assistant Volunteer Coach
Alma Mater: Shippensburg
'00
Experience: 4th year
Boardman will be entering his fourth year as the long distance coach
at Ship in 2006-07. Boardman was a varsity athlete at Ship throughout his four
years of undergraduate study and served as a captain for both the cross country
and track teams for the 1999-2000 season. During his three seasons of coaching,
his athletes have taken 19 PSAC places, including 5 individual championships.
He has coached one All-American (Kelly Stewart's 35:34 in the 10k placed fourth
in 2004) and one Academic All-American. The highlight of his coaching career
to date has been the outdoor conference meet in 2005 when his men took two
unexpected places in the steeple, while Dan Helfrick won both the 10k and 5k
events in convincing fashion.
Boardman works full-time for the Department of Defense in Mechanicsburg, Pa.,
and during the fall he is the head boys and girls XC coach at Carlisle High
School. He also holds an Master's of Business Administration from Shippensburg
and in his spare time can sometimes be found on campus teaching a night class
of Organizational Behavior (MGT 305).
Boardman resides in Shippensburg along with his wife, Angela, son, Britton,
and daughter, Kylee.
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