Track and field welcomes Cataldo and Phelps to coaching staff
09/14/2016 | 2:58:00 | Track and Field
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois University Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Kathleen Raske announced the hiring of two new members of her coaching staff Wednesday.
Kevin Cataldo and Dason Phelps will join Raske as members of the track and field staff for the 2016-17 season.
"I'm thrilled to complete my staff with two great coaches and, more importantly, quality people," Raske said. "They fit well with the philosophy of the program and with the rest of our staff."
Cataldo comes to SIU from the University of Delaware and will serve as the head coach of the Saluki cross country program as well as the distance coach for the track and field program.
"I am 100% confident Coach Cataldo will rebuild our cross country program, and will return it to the level that we have become accustomed to at SIU," Raske said. "He inherits a good core of distance runners to build around, and I know without a doubt that he will get us back on track."
In his two seasons as an assistant with the Blue Hens, he helped his athletes break two school records, four freshman records and earn six all-conference honors on the track.
"I really want to thank Coach Raske and SIU Director of Athletics Tommy Bell for hiring me as the new cross country coach," Cataldo said. "I also want to especially thank my wife, Jessica, for all of her support along the way."
Prior to Delaware, Cataldo served as an assistant for the cross country and track and field programs at Butler University. During his lone season in Indianapolis, the women's cross country squad finished second at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional and went on to take third at the 2013 NCAA Cross Country Championships.
"I'm excited to help build the cross country program in Coach Raske's vision," Cataldo said. "We share a lot of the same philosophies and we both understand that it is all about the process to get this team to where we ultimately want to go. She was very clear about her goals and expectations for this program, which really made me want to be a part of it."
Cataldo got his start as a graduate assistant coach at Michigan State University, where he served as an assistant for both the men's and women's cross country teams.
During his tenure in East Lansing, the women's cross country team won the Big Ten title in 2011, and both programs qualified for the NCAA Championship meet in 2012.
An accomplished runner at Oakland University, Cataldo was named to the All-Michigan team at the Michigan Intercollegiate cross country meet in 2010. He earned a bachelor's degree in health sciences and pre-physical therapy from Oakland in 2011, and later went on to receive a master's degree in education, sports, leadership, and coaching from Michigan State.
Phelps joins the Salukis after two years at Kansas State, where he trained the pole vaulters and assisted with the cross country and mid-distance/distance teams in his second year at K-State.
At SIU, he will coach both pole vault and javelin.
"Dason brings a wealth of experience to SIU, as he has a great variation of the types of settings and environments in which he has coached," Raske said. "He's coached at the high school level, the junior college level, the Division I level, club teams, and has coached at numerous camps and clinics. He has a great perspective that I think is unique."
This past season, Phelps guided K-State's Megan Vanderpool and Zack Supple to top ten marks in program history, both indoor and outdoor.
"I got a chance to first meet both Coach Raske and Coach VanLaningham while working a camp at Sacremento State," Phelps said. "I knew right away that they ran a good program. So when this position opened at SIU, I immediately was drawn to it. It was pretty clear throughout the interview process that it was going to be a really good fit from a personnel/staff standpoint."
When asked what further drew him to SIU, Phelps didn't hesitate with a response.
"When Coach Raske talks about us being a track family, she means it," Phelps said. "That attracted me to this position. Coach Raske's vision and the direction that she wants to go are very clear, and I was inspired to want to be a part of it."
Prior to his time in Manhattan, the Mesa, Ariz., native spent two seasons as a graduate assistant coach at the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota.
During his time with the Marauders, he coached the men and women pole vault groups, as well as assisted in the development of the multi-event athletes. Specifically, he coached the shot put, long jump, and pole vault for the Multis. Phelps was a part of three NSIC Conference Team Championships on the women's side.
In all, Phelps possesses over a decade of coaching experience. He was an assistant coach/recruiting specialist at Paradise Valley Community College (PVCC) in 2012 and served as the pole vault coach at Pinnacle High School in Phoenix from 2005-2009. While at Pinnacle, Phelps coached the 2007 4A-I boys pole vault state champion.
Phelps has coached numerous summer camps and clinics throughout the country since 1999. He was also a member of the National Staff at the annual Reno Pole Vault Summit from 2006-2014.
Competitively, Phelps was a two-time National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Champion while attending PVCC from 1998-2000. He is the only pole-vaulter in junior college history to have cleared the 18-foot barrier and is the NJCAA indoor & outdoor record holder in the event at 5.55m/18-2.5 and 5.49m/18-00 respectively. He graduated from Arizona State in 2011 with a bachelor's degree in psychology.
Kevin Cataldo and Dason Phelps will join Raske as members of the track and field staff for the 2016-17 season.
"I'm thrilled to complete my staff with two great coaches and, more importantly, quality people," Raske said. "They fit well with the philosophy of the program and with the rest of our staff."
Cataldo comes to SIU from the University of Delaware and will serve as the head coach of the Saluki cross country program as well as the distance coach for the track and field program.
"I am 100% confident Coach Cataldo will rebuild our cross country program, and will return it to the level that we have become accustomed to at SIU," Raske said. "He inherits a good core of distance runners to build around, and I know without a doubt that he will get us back on track."
In his two seasons as an assistant with the Blue Hens, he helped his athletes break two school records, four freshman records and earn six all-conference honors on the track.
"I really want to thank Coach Raske and SIU Director of Athletics Tommy Bell for hiring me as the new cross country coach," Cataldo said. "I also want to especially thank my wife, Jessica, for all of her support along the way."
Prior to Delaware, Cataldo served as an assistant for the cross country and track and field programs at Butler University. During his lone season in Indianapolis, the women's cross country squad finished second at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional and went on to take third at the 2013 NCAA Cross Country Championships.
"I'm excited to help build the cross country program in Coach Raske's vision," Cataldo said. "We share a lot of the same philosophies and we both understand that it is all about the process to get this team to where we ultimately want to go. She was very clear about her goals and expectations for this program, which really made me want to be a part of it."
Cataldo got his start as a graduate assistant coach at Michigan State University, where he served as an assistant for both the men's and women's cross country teams.
During his tenure in East Lansing, the women's cross country team won the Big Ten title in 2011, and both programs qualified for the NCAA Championship meet in 2012.
An accomplished runner at Oakland University, Cataldo was named to the All-Michigan team at the Michigan Intercollegiate cross country meet in 2010. He earned a bachelor's degree in health sciences and pre-physical therapy from Oakland in 2011, and later went on to receive a master's degree in education, sports, leadership, and coaching from Michigan State.
Phelps joins the Salukis after two years at Kansas State, where he trained the pole vaulters and assisted with the cross country and mid-distance/distance teams in his second year at K-State.
At SIU, he will coach both pole vault and javelin.
"Dason brings a wealth of experience to SIU, as he has a great variation of the types of settings and environments in which he has coached," Raske said. "He's coached at the high school level, the junior college level, the Division I level, club teams, and has coached at numerous camps and clinics. He has a great perspective that I think is unique."
This past season, Phelps guided K-State's Megan Vanderpool and Zack Supple to top ten marks in program history, both indoor and outdoor.
"I got a chance to first meet both Coach Raske and Coach VanLaningham while working a camp at Sacremento State," Phelps said. "I knew right away that they ran a good program. So when this position opened at SIU, I immediately was drawn to it. It was pretty clear throughout the interview process that it was going to be a really good fit from a personnel/staff standpoint."
When asked what further drew him to SIU, Phelps didn't hesitate with a response.
"When Coach Raske talks about us being a track family, she means it," Phelps said. "That attracted me to this position. Coach Raske's vision and the direction that she wants to go are very clear, and I was inspired to want to be a part of it."
Prior to his time in Manhattan, the Mesa, Ariz., native spent two seasons as a graduate assistant coach at the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota.
During his time with the Marauders, he coached the men and women pole vault groups, as well as assisted in the development of the multi-event athletes. Specifically, he coached the shot put, long jump, and pole vault for the Multis. Phelps was a part of three NSIC Conference Team Championships on the women's side.
In all, Phelps possesses over a decade of coaching experience. He was an assistant coach/recruiting specialist at Paradise Valley Community College (PVCC) in 2012 and served as the pole vault coach at Pinnacle High School in Phoenix from 2005-2009. While at Pinnacle, Phelps coached the 2007 4A-I boys pole vault state champion.
Phelps has coached numerous summer camps and clinics throughout the country since 1999. He was also a member of the National Staff at the annual Reno Pole Vault Summit from 2006-2014.
Competitively, Phelps was a two-time National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Champion while attending PVCC from 1998-2000. He is the only pole-vaulter in junior college history to have cleared the 18-foot barrier and is the NJCAA indoor & outdoor record holder in the event at 5.55m/18-2.5 and 5.49m/18-00 respectively. He graduated from Arizona State in 2011 with a bachelor's degree in psychology.
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