WORCESTER, Mass.— Assumption Cross Country and Track and Field Head Coach Trent Baltzell has resigned his position at Assumption as announced by Interim Director of Athletics, Christine Lowthert. Baltzell will be taking on the position of Assistant Men's Track and Field coach at his alma mater, the University of Rhode Island. A search for his successor will begin immediately.
"I would like to thank Trent for his work over the past three years," said Lowthert. "He led the cross country and track and field teams to one of the best years in program history during the 2018-19 season. Many student-athletes earned regional and national recognition under Trent's guidance. He established a strong foundation for the future of Assumption's cross country and track and field programs, and I wish him the best in his future coaching career".
Under Baltzell's guidance, the men's cross country team finished seventh in the NCAA Regionals last season, the best finish in program history. The women's cross country team placed third at the NE10 Championship and fourth at NCAA Regionals while Kialeigh Marston qualified for the NCAA Championship and earned Second-Team All-America honors. This was the second consecutive NCAA Championship appearance as they won the East Regional title in 2017. The cross country program was not only successful in competition, but they also succeeded highly in the classroom; six student-athletes from the 2018-19 cross country rosters were named to the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team.
A school-record 15 student-athletes from the women's track and field team earned All-Region Honors last season and Baltzell guided several to new school records. Two student-athletes qualified for the NCAA Division II Track and Field Championship, while standout Abby Jones earned NE10 Field of the Year honors, USTFCCCA East Region Field Athlete of the Year, and All-America Honors in the long jump. The women's track and field team took second place at the NE10 Championships last season and four men's track and field athletes earned USTFCCCA All-Region honors. Baltzell had five athletes earn USTFCCCA All-Academic Honors between both the men's and women's track and field programs.
Baltzell was named the USTFCCCA East Region Coach of the Year in 2017 and had a school-record five student-athletes named All-Region. In track and field, both the men's and women's programs set, or matched, the best finishes in program history. Under his guidance, Antonia Pagliuca became the first ever First-Team All-American in track and field program history. Assumption had 26 All-Region honorees over the course of the indoor and outdoor track seasons in 2017, as well as seven NE10 Champions. The men's track program broke 15 school records in 2017 while the women shattered 26 school records between indoor and outdoor.
Baltzell is a 2014 graduate of the University of Rhode Island where he was a member of the Division I men's track and field team. Baltzell is returning to his alma mater where he holds the school records in the decathlon (7,075) and was a two-time Atlantic-10 Conference decathlon champion. He also holds the New England Championship record in the heptathlon (5,226) and claimed four overall Atlantic-10 titles in his career.