Osanitsch Named PSAC Men's Outdoor Track Coach of the Year, His Fourth Honor

June 6, 2006

SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - Shippensburg first-year head track and field coach Dave Osanitsch swept the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) men's track and field Coach of the Year awards this season after being named men's outdoor track and field Coach of the Year on Tuesday. Osanitsch was also named men's indoor Coach of the Year in March.

Osanitsch has been honored as a Coach of the Year four times this season. In addition to his two conference Coach of the Year awards, Osanitsch swept both of the United States Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division II men's regional Coach of the Year awards, being named both indoor and outdoor track and field East Region Coach of the Year.

In his first season, Osanitsch led the men's indoor track and field team to its second-straight PSAC title while leading the outdoor team to its fourth consecutive conference championship. The Red Raiders captured the outdoor championship by 27.5 points while his squad combined for 17 All-PSAC finishes and four individual titles.

At the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships, senior John Somers (Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg) and junior Nate Reider (York, Pa./Dallastown) earned to the PSAC's eight All-America honors.

Following the indoor season, the men achieved their highest-ever ranking in the history of the NCAA Division II Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Power Rankings, finishing at No. 9 overall and No. 1 in the East Region.

Currently in his eighth year as a track and field coach at the college level for the 2005-06 season, Osanitsch returned to his alma mater in 2002 as an assistant coach, working primarily with the jumpers and multi-event athletes, a role he continues as the head coach.

After four years as an assistant coach, 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 who decided to step down in order to concentrate on building a prominent cross country program.

Since Osanitsch's arrival at Shippensburg, the jumps squad has garnered 13 individual PSAC championships and All-conference honors. He has also produced 11 NCAA Division II Championship provisional qualifiers and five All-Americans.

- Red Raider Track and Field -