RENO, Nev. - Shantel Twiggs, current women's track & field head coach at Northern Illinois, has been announced as the University of Nevada's new track & field head coach. Twiggs will take the reins of one of Nevada's most successful programs beginning mid-September.
The St. Louis, Mo., native has been the NIU women's head coach for the last three seasons where she resurrected the Huskies' program. When Twiggs took over the program in the winter of 2000, the team had not competed in 18 years. Since that time, her athletes have broken more than 14 school records. The 2003-04 season saw the school's first NCAA Mid-East Regional qualifiers when two Huskies finished 25 and 30th, respectively, in the shot put. One of those throwers, Ashley Morrow, was named to the All-Mid American Conference second team, also a first for the program.
"I would like to thank the Wolf Pack Athletic Department and the University of Nevada for this opportunity. Coach Kraft and his staff have put this program in a winning position. I'm excited to be the next coach to carry the torch and to lead Wolf Pack track and cross country to greater heights. The administration has been supportive in placing the student-athlete experience first, which was a major part in my decision to accept this position," Twiggs said.
Before coaching at NIU, Twiggs was an assistant coach for three years at her alma mater, Northern Iowa. During her tenure at Northern Iowa, Twiggs coached the men's and women's sprinters to more than 10 school records and two dozen all-conference honors. In her final season, she coached five NCAA Division I qualifiers with one gaining All-America honors at the indoor track and field championships. Twiggs can also claim two Missouri Valley Conference Championships Athletes-of-the-Meet to her coaching resume, as Marshall Frazier took home the award at the 2000 MVC indoor meet and Devon Davis nabbed the title at the 1999 outdoor competition. She also worked heavily in recruiting for the Panthers' program and assisted with the Northern Iowa cross country teams.
The 31-year-old Twiggs was an all-conference sprinter for the Panthers from 1990-94, earning All-MVC honors six times in her career. She also won All-American honors her senior season when she placed sixth in the 200-meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Overall, she qualified for the NCAA's eight times with two provisional qualifying marks while at Northern Iowa and is the owner and co-owner of 13 school records. She has been a member of three U.S. National Teams (U.S. vs Great Britain, 1994; World Cup, 1994; and Pan Am Games, 1995) leading off the gold medal 4x100-meter relay team at the Pan Am Games in 1995. She also won gold and bronze medals at the 1994 Olympic Festival as the anchor leg of the 4x100-meter relay team and the 200-meters, respectively.
"Shantel will bring great leadership and enthusiasm to the Wolf Pack track and field program. She is a rising star and will take a successful program and make it better," Cindy Fox, Nevada's associate athletics director, said.
Twiggs received her Bachelor of Arts degree in chemistry and marketing from Northern Iowa in 1995. After graduation, she worked as an assistant track coach and substitute teacher for the Ferguson-Florissant School District in Berkeley, Mo., before returning to her alma mater in 1997. She is a member of both the U.S. Track Coaches Association of America (USTCA) and USA Track & Field.
After taking over a dormant program at NIU, Twiggs will have a completely different task at Nevada where she replaces 10-year head coach Curt Kraft, who stepped down from the head coaching position in June. Since 2000, the Wolf Pack has won four conference championships and two individual All-America honors. Last season saw the most recent of those honors when junior Nicole Petty (Seattle, Wash.) placed sixth in the 800-meters at the outdoor NCAA's.