Kinseth Named National Coach of the Year
UW-Oshkosh head men's track & field coach Justin Kinseth was selected as the 2020 NCAA Division III Indoor Coach of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
Kinseth, who is in his third season guiding the UW-Oshkosh program, received the national coaching decoration for the first time. Previous USTFCCCA Division III Indoor Coach of the Year award winners from UW-Oshkosh were Bruce Coleman in 1999 and John Zupanc in 2001.
Due to the worldwide coronavirus pandemic the 2020 NCAA Division III Indoor Championship scheduled for March 13-14 in Winston-Salem, N.C., was canceled. UW-Oshkosh was well-positioned for making a run at its second national title as Kinseth's squad earned a nation-leading 16 entries for the meet.
UW-Oshkosh, which captured its lone Division III indoor title in 2009, was slated to be represented at the national championship in 11 of the meet's 17 events. The Titans ranked third nationally in the USTFCCCA's Division III Rating Index prior to the championship.
Leading UW-Oshkosh's list of qualifiers for the national championship was Jonathan Wilburn. Wilburn earned the meet's top triple jump seed following his school-record measurement of 50-3 1/4 at the Ripon College Red Hawk Opener held Jan. 25.
Titans Jaylen Grant was seeded fourth in the 60-meter dash and Steven Potter fifth in the 800-meter run with their season-best times of 6.81 seconds and 1:52.70, respectively.
The Titans' 1,600-meter relay team of Todd Beadle, Ethan Burch, Adrian Girone and Amitai Wheat was seeded second with their season-best time of 3:16.83.
UW-Oshkosh was going to have three contestants in the pole vault and two competitors apiece in the 60-meter dash, long jump and shot put for the national championship.
UW-Oshkosh finished 28th with nine points at the 2018 Division III Indoor Championship and ninth with 17 points a year ago.
Earlier this season, Wilburn repeated as triple jump champion and Jamyle Brantley won his first long jump title to helo UW-Oshkosh finish second at the eight-team WIAC Championship held Feb. 28-29 in Kolf Sports Center.
UW-Oshkosh scored 148.5 points to finish as the league's runner-up for the second straight year. The point total was the Titans' highest since accumulating 168 at the 2003 meet.
UW-La Crosse compiled 169 points to capture its 19th straight WIAC title while UW-Eau Claire placed third to the Eagles with 119.666.
Kinseth came to UW-Oshkosh from Benedictine University (Ill.), where he served as an assistant coach, recruiting coordinator, and director of strength and conditioning for the men's and women's track & field programs from 2015-17. The USTFCCCA named Kinseth its Division III Men's Indoor & Outdoor Assistant Coach of the Year in 2017.
Kinseth competed in both football and track & field for Wartburg College (Iowa). He was a wide receiver for the football team when it won the 2009 American Rivers Conference championship and advanced to the NCAA Division III semifinals.
Kinseth was a four-year letterwinner as a member of the Wartburg College track & field team. He helped the Knights win the 2012 ARC indoor and 2013 ARC outdoor titles as a competitor in the javelin and multi-events.
Kinseth earned his bachelor's and master's degree from Wartburg College and Cardinal Stritch University, respectively.
The last two USTFCCCA Division III Indoor Track & Field Coach of the Year honorees were North Central College's (Ill.) Frank Gramarosso in 2019 and University of Mount Union's (Ohio) Kevin Lucas in 2018.
USTFCCCA NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Coach of the Year Release