John Strang Hired as Utah State Track and Field Assistant Coach

Utah State [University] track & field head coach Gregg Gensel announced Monday [Jan. 4, 2010] that former Aggie student-athlete John Strang has been hired as an assistant coach.

 

Strang, a Hawthorne, N.J., native replaces Joel Johnson, who left the coaching ranks to pursue other professional opportunities. Strang will work with the combined events, jumpers, pole vaulters and short sprinters.

 

“I’m excited for the opportunity, and I think it’s fitting to follow coach Johnson, since he’s the reason I wanted to become a coach in the first place,” Strang said.  “I used to stand next to Coach Johnson at practice and just observe him coaching the vaulters and take mental notes. I’ve learned that coaching the events is the easy part; it’s helping the athletes get in the right mode mentally for competition and things like that will be the hard part.”

 

Strang becomes the fourth member of the Aggie coaching staff that was also a USU track & field student-athlete, joining Gensel, assistant coach Corey Murdock and graduate assistant Caroline Berry.  Strang’s predecessor, Johnson, was also a former USU track & field student-athlete.

 

“I’m excited about John joining our staff, because of our previous association as an athlete and coach, so it will be exciting to work together as coaches,” Gensel said. “I’ve seen him grow both as a person and as a student-athlete, so I’m anxious to see him grow as a coach. I think he comes with a great desire and a basic knowledge of the events that he’s going to be responsible for. I think it’s going to be an exciting chapter in USU track & field history.”

Strang finished his highly decorated Aggie career as a five-time consecutive Western Athletic Conference Champion in the multi-events, winning three-straight decathlon titles during the outdoor season and winning two consecutive heptathlon titles during the indoor season. Strang became the first three-time WAC decathlon champion since 1977-79, when Tito Steiner of BYU won three in a row. Strang’s 5,522 points in winning the 2009 WAC heptathlon title is WAC Championship record.

“I know it’s going to be challenging, but I look forward to leading my old teammates in competitions. It’s going to be a little tough joining in at mid-year, since I didn’t have the fall to observe and work with the athletes prepare for the season, but that’s the situation I’m in, so I just have to make the most of it,” Strang said.  

At the 2009 NCAA Indoor Championships, Strang earned USU’s first All-America honors in the multi-events, either the heptathlon indoor or the decathlon outdoor. Strang finished eighth overall in the heptathlon with a new PR, Utah State school record and improving on his WAC record of 5,532 points.

Strang holds the No. 2 spot on USU’s decathlon record list with 7,180 points, trailing the school record of 7,586 held by Johnson.

Strang was a 17-time all-WAC honoree, earning two first-team honors in 2009, collecting both at the indoor championships after winning the heptathlon and finishing third in the high jump, as well as two second-team selections, placing sixth in the triple jump.

A three-time NCAA Regional performer, Strang also qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in 2009.

 

Utah State track & field opens 2010 action on Jan. 15 at the Idaho State Invitational at Pocatello, Idaho. The Aggies, the defending men’s outdoor WAC champions, will host their lone meet of the season, the Mark Faldmo Invitational, Saturday, April 17, at the Ralph Maughan Track Stadium.
   

John Strang’s Career Highlights

 

Heptathlon (I, 2009; I, 2008)
Decathlon (O, 2009; O, 2008; O, 2007)

 

First-Team:
Heptathon (I, 2009; I, 2008)
Decathlon (O, 2009; O, 2008; O, 2007)
High Jump (I, 2009; I, 2008; O, 2008; I, 2007; O, 2007)

 

Second-Team:
Heptathlon (I, 2007)
Triple Jump (I, 2009)
High Jump (O, 2009)
60m Dash (I, 2008)
60m Hurdles (I, 2008)
110m Hurdles (O, 2007)
Long Jump (I, 2007)

 

Decathlon (O, 2009)
High jump (O, 2009; O, 2008)

 

Heptathlon (I, 2009)

I = Indoor
O = Outdoor

Additional Aggie sports news is available at the Athletics Web site homepage.