After 27 years as the head track and field coaches at Eastern Washington University, Stan Kerr and Marcia Mecklenburg have announced their retirements. Dave Nielsen, who has spent five years with the Eagles after spending 31 years at Idaho State, will also retire.
 
Mecklenburg came to Eastern Washington in the Fall of 1995, with Kerr joining her in a full-time capacity shortly after in January of 1996. The duo has coached thousands of athletes during their tenures, impacting lives beyond the track and throwing pits. Mecklenburg was the women's head coach and coached the throwers, while Kerr coached the men's team and oversaw the hurdles and sprints.
 
In 27 years at Eastern Washington, they helped coach the program to 441 All-Big Sky Conference honors.
 
"We want to wish Stan, Marcia, and Dave congratulations as they move into retirement. Their years of service to the sport of track and field, and specifically to Eastern Washington University, is outstanding.  They have been tireless workers for our department and for their students. They were always positive and very enthusiastic about their teams and have been role models in their daily display of loyalty and resilience in running their programs. Both Marcia and Stan spent almost the entirety of their coaching careers with us, which in this day of college athletics if very rare and extremely commendable. Dave was a great addition these past few years and brought a high level of expertise and work ethic to our established staff," said Associate Vice President / Director of Athletics, Lynn Hickey. "All three of these coaches have contributed years of work and sacrifice to intercollegiate athletics and have made an impact and difference for thousands of young people. They have been outstanding service leaders and we are so fortunate that they dedicated their lives to Eagle Athletics. We thank them for their service and wish them the very best as they move on to this next phase of their lives."
 
Nielsen was the head coach at Idaho State for 31 years and retired in March of 2016. He came out of retirement to join the Eagles in 2017-18, and was inducted into ISU's Hall of Fame in February 2020. In his five years coaching the EWU jumps and multi's, 16 athletes earned All-Big Sky honors.
 
Stan Kerr
 
Stan Kerr is in his 27th season as head men's track and field/cross country coach for the 2021-22 school year. He coaches Eastern competitors in the sprints and hurdles.

Kerr began his tenure as Eastern's head men's coach in January of 1996. He first came to Eastern as an undergraduate in the late 1970s and returned as a graduate assistant coach from 1991-1993.

During his time at EWU, Kerr's men's team has had two NCAA All-Americans (Kurt Kraemer and Ryan Cole in 2001), 64 individual Big Sky Conference Champions, plus six relays, and 227 Big Sky All-Conference performers in addition to 20 relays. In all, since 1996 he has helped EWU men's and women's sprinters and hurdlers win 30 individual Big Sky Conference championships with a total of 93 Big Sky All-Conference performances. Additionally, his relay teams have won 10 Big Sky titles with a total of 31 All-Conference honors.

The sprinters/hurdlers he's coached since 1996 own 203 positions on EWU's top 10 lists indoors and outdoors for men and women in all events through 400 meters, including relays. Broken down, 44 of the marks were by men outdoors and another 47 indoors, with 53 women's outdoor marks and 59 indoors ranking in the top 10.

Men's school records outdoors since 1996 include the 100 (Jeremy VanAssche, 10.29 in 2018), 200 (Johnnie Williams, 21.03 in 1999), 400 (Brad Wall, 46.67 in 2010) and 110 hurdles (Parker Bowden, 13.62 in 2021); indoors include the 55-meters (Johnnie Williams, 6.25 in 2000), 60-meters (Joe Gauthier, 6.68, 2022), 400 (46.97, Brad Michael in 2012) and 60 hurdles (Parker Bowden, 7.94 in 2020). Women's records have included the indoor 55 (Rebecca Tarbert, 6.78 in 2016), 60 meters (Tarbert, 7.37 in 2018) 60-meter hurdles (Seville Broussard, 8.51 in 1999) and the 55-meter hurdles (Seville Broussard, 7.85 in 1998).

In addition, four of the outdoor relays he has coached own school records as well. The men's 4x100 relay in 2018 had a time of 40.39 to break the previous record of 40.46 held by the 2011 squad Kerr coached. In 2006, the men's 4x400 meter-relay ran 3:09.72 to break the previous record that had stood since 1987. The women's 4x400 in 2012 had a record time of 3:47.14, and in 2010 the women's 4x100 had an all-time Eastern best of 45.31 to break a mark that had lasted for 16 years.
 
Indoors, Kerr has coached the top-four spots on the women's 4x400-meter relay, along with the men's 4x400-meter relay indoor school records (3:11.04, 2012).

While a member of the Spokane Community College and University of Montana track squads, Kerr ran on mile relay teams that still hold school records of 3:10.50 and 3:12.70, respectively. Kerr came to EWU in fall 1977 to finish school. He ran legs of relay teams for EWU in 1979 that set school records, including the 800-meter-sprint-medley relay (1:31.38).

Kerr received his bachelor's degree in 1980 and master's degree from Eastern in 1993. After he left Eastern in 1993, Kerr became the head men's coach at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. While at Eau Claire, he coached the NCAA Division III women's high jump champion.

He and his wife, Saralynn, have two sons, Tully and Carson.
 
Marcia Mecklenburg
 
A Pacific Northwest native, Marcia Mecklenburg is now in her 27th season as head coach of Eastern's women's track and field program in the 2021-22 school year. She coaches Eastern's throwers.

Since Mecklenburg's tenure began at EWU in the fall of 1995, the women's program has had three All-Americans (Morgan Fossen 2022, Keisa Monterola 2012, Carolee Gutierrez 2007), 50 individual Big Sky Conference champions, plus five relays, and 194 Big Sky All-Conference performers (top 3 finish at Big Sky Championships), in addition to 14 relays. 

As coach of both the women's and men's throwers, Mecklenburg has coached two NCAA All-Americans in the javelin -- Carolee Gutierrez in 2007 and Ryan Cole in 2001. She has also coached athletes to 10 NCAA Championship appearances. In all, since 1995 she has coached the EWU throwers to win 38 individual Big Sky Conference championships with a total of 128 Big Sky All-Conference performances

At the end of her tenure, the throwers she's coached since 1995 own 118 current positions on EWU's top 10 lists indoors and outdoors for men and women in the shot put, discus, hammer, weight throw and javelin. Broken down, 40 of the marks were by women outdoors and another 27 indoors, with 28 men's outdoor marks and 23 indoors ranking in the top 10. For perspective, every athlete in the top-ten in the women's javelin, women's outdoor shot put and hammer throw, women's weight throw, men's hammer throw and men's weight throw has been coached by Mecklenburg.

Women's current school records outdoors since 1995 include the discus (Emma Murillo, 169-0 in 2015), shot put (Erica Chaney, 51-0 3/4 in 2011), javelin (Carolee Gutierrez, 175-7 in 2007) and hammer (Kaytlyn Coleman, 203-1 in 2016), and indoor records include the shot put (Chaney, 51-7 3/4 in 2011), discus (Julie Nielson, 151-0 in 2001) and 20-pound weight throw (Coleman, 67-3 1/2 in 2016).
 
For the men, current school records outdoors since 1995 include the javelin (Ryan Cole, 244-7 in 2001) and the hammer throw (David Paul, 226-2 in 2007). Indoor records include Paul in the 35-pound weight throw with a mark of 68-8 1/2 also set in 2007.

Mecklenburg took over at EWU after nine seasons as an assistant at Washington State University. At WSU, she coached All-America athletes in the shot put, discus and javelin events, including the 1987 and 1988 NCAA discus champion.

Before joining the Cougar coaching staff in 1986, Mecklenburg was an assistant coach for five seasons at Montana State and also coached at Seattle Pacific. At MSU, she coached 11 all-conference athletes and a pair of national qualifiers.

Mecklenburg has extensive strength and conditioning coaching experience. She was an assistant coach for the United States at the 1997 Indoor World Championships.

Mecklenburg received her bachelor's degree from Seattle Pacific in 1979 and her master's degree from Montana State in 1991. She is a former state champion at Edmonds-Woodway High School in the Seattle area, and competed four times in the AIAW National Championships in the shot put and discus while at SPU. She was inducted into her high school's hall of fame on Oct. 24, 2019.

During the course of her competitive career, Mecklenburg also competed in three Olympic trials and made three U.S. teams. As a competitor in masters' competitions in the hammer throw, she set an American record for her age group at the Nike World Masters Championship in summer 1998.

Mecklenburg has a daughter, Echo.
 
Dave Nielsen
 
Dave Nielsen is entering his fifth season in 2021-22 as the jumps and multi-events coach at Eastern Washington University.

After 31 years as the head coach of track and field at Idaho State University in Pocatello, Idaho, Nielsen came out of retirement to join the EWU track and field staff for the 2017-18 season. Nielsen had originally retired at ISU in March 2016, and was inducted into the school's athletics Hall of Fame on Feb. 22, 2020. A week later, he coached a pair of Eagles to Big Sky Conference titles and a third all-conference performance (top three placing).

That meet took place at Idaho State's Holt Arena, where Nielsen coached for most of his career. Senior Grant Shurtliff won the title in the heptathlon, and Keshun McGee won the triple jump and placed third in the long jump.

The 2018-19 season was an even bigger year for McGee, as Nielsen helped him advance to the NCAA Division I Championships in both the long jump and triple jump. The quest for McGee to become the school's first men's All-American in track and field in 18 years came up two places short on June 7, 2019, when he placed 18th in the triple jump at the NCAA Track and Field Championships in Austin, Texas. McGee's best jump was 51-9, just 3 3/4 inches from 16th and earning second team All-America honors.

McGee made his NCAA Championships debut two days earlier in the long jump and fouled on all three jumps. McGee advanced to the NCAA Championships in the triple jump by placing sixth overall with a personal-best mark of 52-4 3/4 at the NCAA West Preliminary Round in Sacramento, Calif., on May 25. Two days earlier in the same meet, he placed eighth in the long jump with a mark of 25-1 1/4 to punch his first ticket to the final 24.

McGee won an EWU record seven Big Sky titles. He won the long jump and triple jump at the 2019 Big Sky Conference Championships to give him a 4-of-4 sweep of jumping titles indoors and outdoors in 2019. His school-record 25-4 1/2 effort helped him win the long jump outdoors, and he also won the long jump and triple jump at the indoor championships. His winning long jump of 25-6 indoors set a new EWU school record.

Including the eight all-conference accolades won by McGee and Shurtliff's heptathlon title, Nielsen has coached EWU athletes to a total of 16 top three finishes at league championship meets since his arrival for the 2017-18 school year, in addition to a combined 44 all-time top-ten marks.

During the 2017-18 season, Nielsen coached McGee to a first-place finish in the long jump at the Big Sky Outdoor Championships with a mark of 24-10 1/2. This marked the first time an EWU athlete earned a title in the outdoor event. McGee also took second in the triple jump at the championships with a mark of 51-6 1/4.
 
In 2021-22, Nielsen coached Maggie Nelson to two school records in the pentathlon (3,702) and the heptathlon (5,173). Nelson placed third in both the pentathlon and the heptathlon at the Big Sky Conference championships that season, marking the first time an Eagle on the women's side had earned All-Big Sky honors in both events. Nelson was also the first Eagle to ever eclipse over 5,000 points in the heptathlon.

Prior to his arrival at EWU, Nielsen led the ISU men's indoor team to Big Sky Conference championships in 1997, 1998, 2005 and 2006. After that, he also coached the women to their first title during the 2007 outdoor season.

During his time at Idaho State, Nielsen helped coached 21 athletes to All-America status along with 403 athletes earning All-Conference Big Sky honors. He also was a part of 172 athletes winning Big Sky and 45 athletes advancing to the NCAA Championships.

Nielsen was named the Nike Coach of the Year for Track and Field back in 2000. He was also named the Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year in 1998, 1997, 2005, 2006, and 2007. Back in January 2014, he was also inducted to the National Pole Vault Hall of Fame.

Originally from Iowa, Nielsen graduated from the University of Iowa in 1978 and obtained his master's degree from Idaho State University in 1981. He had his first position at the University of Wisconsin as an assistant women's track and field coach in 1982 for one year before moving to Pocatello in 1983. He started out as the women's head coach until 1985 when he became the head coach of the whole track and field program. While being a coach, he also has been a physical education and sports science instructor.

Outside of his coaching, Nielsen has had 10 publications that all are related to track and field. Along with writing, he has made four conference presentations, including "Inversion Techniques and Training for the Pole Vault" at the 2008 Track and Field Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore. He also has professional memberships in the USTFCCA (United States Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association) and in USATF (USA Track and Field).