Thompson Named Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Coach at Oswego
The Oswego State Athletic Department announced today that David Thompson, previous head coach for the track and field programs at the University of Dubuque, has been named to head the men’s and women’s track and field programs at Oswego.
A native of Chicago, Ill., Thompson joins the Laker program with extensive track and field experience, including success as a student-athlete at North Central College, a NCAA Division III powerhouse in the sport. Thompson spent three years as the head coach at Dubuque following stints as the head coach at Ashford University and as an assistant coach at Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill.
While at Dubuque, Thompson coached four national qualifiers during the 2011 indoor and outdoor seasons, including the 2011 NCAA Division III men’s indoor national champion in the 55-meter dash. In 2010, he worked with eight NCAA outdoor qualifiers and four NCAA indoor qualifiers, resulting in four athletes earning All-American status and the school’s first-ever female All-American in the triple jump. Thompson’s athletes broke over twenty records in the same season. In his first season at Dubuque, he produced two national qualifiers in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes.
Before joining the staff at Dubuque, Thompson worked at Ashford University from 2006-08 and helped the program set over 20 school records in his tenure. He coached three national qualifiers and helped the Saints claim seven indoor and four outdoor individual conference titles in 2008.
Prior to Ashford, he was an assistant coach at Augustana College (Rock Island, Ill.) where he concentrated his coaching to primarily sprints, jumps, and multi-events. While there, he helped develop 16 all-conference performers as well as three NCAA Division III national qualifiers.
Thompson earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1999 from North Central College, where he was also a standout track and field student-athlete. He received NCAA Division III All-America recognition 11 times and was a three-time National Champion (long jump, a member of a 4x100 meter relay, and 200-meter dash). He served as the captain of the track and field team from 1996-1998, and is a member of the North Central Athletic Hall of Fame.
Upon graduation, Thompson pursued a dream of qualifying for the Olympics by training in Indianapolis, Ind., with the Indiana Invaders, a Nike-sponsored professional track and field club. While training full time, Thompson participated in instructional clinics for coaches and pursued his USATF Level 1 Coaching certification. He also organized youth summer programs promoting track and field to local area student-athletes.
